War Technicalities
by Geeky Craze
Summary: [Warning: violent/graphic content and Caesar x Human!OC.] They say that curiosity kills the cat, but do they mention how the cat found a friend and a strange love for him, and then how she hid that love with a mistake before war made the situation worse? I didn't think so. Thus, following this curious cat, Haley Hunsiker, might be wise, just so you know curiosity's consequences.
1. The Neighbor's Monster

Haley gazed up at her neighbor's house with curious and beady young eyes, studying the attic's dormer window from her room's balcony, looking for some faint sign of life. Her twin sister once came home from school, crying waterfalls of tears while screaming about seeing a monster in the window, but Haley had the strangest feeling that she didn't see a monster at all, and this suspicion only grew each time she saw her sister crying at the sight of things like baby frogs or harmless lizards. No, she told herself, her eyes narrowing up at the circular window, whatever her sister saw wasn't a monster; after all, her father once said that monsters aren't real.

Still, weeks passed with her sitting in silence on the balcony for more than an hour every night before something finally happened and she saw it. At first it was brief, only a figure covered in fur swinging pass the window, making her gasp in shock, but then the figure stopped and turned towards her, as if seeing her for the first time ever after all those nights. Whatever it was seemed afraid as it slowly inched closer to the window, it's posture hunched over in a cower and it's steps swaying back and forth, like it took rhythmic steps backward in hesitance, but once it peeked through the window and it's face was lit up by the moonlight, it all made sense to the young girl. There, staring back at her with bright and curious green eyes, just like her brown ones, stood a young ape, not actually afraid at all. In an instant, her breath got caught in her throat, her jaw slacking and her eyes widening, but not in horror or disgust; rather, she gaped in awe and disbelief. Shakily, she rose a single arm, glancing behind her to make sure no one was coming upstairs to her room, and gave a little wave. It was to her utter dismay when she saw the ape hoot behind the glass before he waved back.

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	2. Wednesdays

"Send my love to Emily's parents!"

"Will do!"

Haley's bare feet clapped vigorously against the ground as she ran out of the house, the same as every other Wednesday for the past year. For the entire morning until the clock struck twelve, her visit to her friend's house has been what she's been looking forward to; if only she could tell her father that Emily wasn't the friend she's been visiting all this time. However, after how the man reacted to when Caesar showed up at their house, having had no idea that he showed up to play with his daughter, she knew it was for the best not to tell him – she knew he'd have Caesar put in a zoo, if not somewhere worse. She might still be an uneducated child, no more than eight years old, but she knew her father well enough.

"Back again, are you?" Will chuckled down at the young girl in his doorway while he watched her catch her breath, only getting a chipper nod in return, "He's upstairs."

Immediately, she rushed pass her neighbor and up the spiral staircase to the entrance of the attic, lugging her backpack with her all the way, and just like every other day, Caesar lit up like a child on Christmas when he saw her head pop out through the floor. Swooping down from the window, he swung from one joist in the roof the other with his strong arms before he plopped down in front of her and carefully motioned his hands in front of him, repeating the words he memorized in the past five years thanks to his impossible memory.

"It's good to see you, too," Haley grinned, a couple of missing teeth interrupting her otherwise perfect smile, "but I don't..."

Releasing a frustrated gibber, he motioned to her backpack.

"Oh! You were asking what I brought today?" She laughed, proud that she was able to figure out the words Will hasn't showed her yet, and quickly shrugged her bag from her shoulders, unzipping it in a rush, "Dad bought a lot of new toys on his flight to Japan last week; I'm sure you'll love these." With a slight skip in her step, Haley quickly shuffled over to the center of the room and tossed the contents of her bag onto the floor before she sat down, Caesar already seated opposite her, as if routine. Like always, Caesar's eyes sparkled with curiosity as he picked up and studied the many new, strange trinkets that were splayed out in front of him, and Haley just enjoyed thirty minutes of watching him before she begun to explain how they all worked.

Back then, she couldn't express the satisfaction she felt from simply bringing a bit of the outside world to his small reality.

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	3. Humanity's Downfall

Haley gasped and heaved for air, her lungs, arms, and legs burning with a pleasant but painful ache, her blood turning into fire as it rushed through her veins and her pounding heart. Still, she curled her bruised and scraped hands around the branch above her head with an unimaginable desperation. With bared teeth and a faint 11-year-old whimper, she tried to pull herself back into the tree, swaying her tired legs back and forth through the air to see if she still had enough momentum to flip herself onto the branch, but alas, her weak and buttery fingers finally gave away. The ominously tall and slender trees in front of her blurred into patches of bright sunlight piercing through clouds of green as her body tipped with her last swing, and blinded reality from her eyes with enchanting rays of light, but still it didn't change her heart from racing with terror. Like a stone, she plummeted towards the ground, her hair whipping violently against her face, and yet not a single yelp or scream escaped her while her eyes fell shut in anticipation to death, which never came.

Without a whisper or mumble to warn her, something suddenly crashed into her side and jerked her from her fall with such impact that it stole the last of her breath away, the harsh impact so different compared to the gentle arm that wrapped around her waist. The touch, however – powerful, warm, and soft – was familiar enough that, as soon as her mind processed her rescue, a sheepish laugh escaped her while she was unwillingly swung through the trees and back in the direction of the picnic. "I almost made it this time!" She tried insisting, straining her neck to gaze up at Caesar, but he just released a disapproving huff at her words and tightened his strong arm around her, his hands not free to sign how she still had a long way to go.

"Slipped again?" Caroline chuckled at Haley, watching the two 'children' drop back down onto the forest floor from where she was comfortably resting against Will's side.

"Hay, I got half way this time!" She tried insisting again, but this time all she got was a small laugh from Will instead, forcing her cheeks to puff in a pout, "I managed to swing through ten trees!"

That finally made their amused grins fall, Caroline actually looking impressed by the girl's improvement over the past year. However, it only lasted for a while and quickly got interrupted by a few grumbles and grunts from Caesar. Over the past four years of knowing each other, Caesar has grown much larger than the small chimpanzee Haley waved at from her balcony; his shoulders have grown broad and muscular, his face has grown serious and less innocent, and his intelligence certainly improved, along with his posture and his height – all thanks to his ape-years and all to the displeasure of Haley, because, as his size grew increasingly larger and taller than hers, so did his protective nature.

"Oh, I'm fine, Caesar." She attempted to calm him down while Will and Caroline got ready to pack everything up so they could return home. "See?" She continued and motioned up and down her unscathed body to emphasize her point, but only to see her scratched and blistering fingertips and to hide them behind her back with a guilty smile, "Mostly unharmed."

Naturally, she wasn't very convincing and it only allowed him to hoot, frustrated, before he motioned, "You're not ape: it's dangerous."

"Yes, so you've said." She grumbled, "But if I can't play with you in the attic anymore, seeing as you spend all your time here, is it really so wrong to adjust so I can be with you? You may be ape, but you're still my friend – my only friend."

Immediately, his demeanor changed, his face falling into what seemed nothing less than sympathy, but before he had a real chance of responding, Will announced it was time to leave. Maybe, just maybe, things would have ended so much better if they actually finished their conversation – then, he might've known that she does care for him a lot and she didn't mean for it all to end so soon.

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	4. Wants and Should Wants

Horror, terror, fear, inner conflict, pain, confusion – none of those words could explain or describe on their own how Haley felt at that exact moment. Her heart hang heavy in her chest, a dry lump scratched painfully in her throat, her feet anchored themselves deep into the street, and her breathing ceased against her will. 'This can't be happening.' She told herself, but reality was a cruel teacher and a merciless knife against her soul. Everyone around her was blurred and obsolete while she was unwillingly forced to make a decision that made her heart ache for solace. Haley hoped, pleaded, and prayed that it was nothing but a nightmare, for her sisters' screams for their father's health to be nothing more than some trick of the mind, but as the sight of crimson water dripping from her best friend's lips wormed its way into her vision without her permission, she knew even her sick mind couldn't have dreamed up such a revolting thing.

Torn between two unrealistic choices, Haley stood between her bleeding father, who was revealed to be no more than a mortal man as he clutched his de-fingered hand to his chest with endless tears soaking his face, and Caesar, an ape who seemed in terror of his own actions as he hugged his shaking and infant-minded grandfather close, his pleading green eyes boring into Haley's frightened ones. Though she was sure the ape thought her fear was of him, he couldn't have been more wrong – the fear was of her, herself, and the fact that she even dared to hesitate about whom to console. She wasn't an ape, Caesar has taken it upon himself to mention this on several occasions, she was a human, and her father and twin sister were her family, not Will and his. How could she think to go to them?

And so, torn between what she wanted and what she should want, the latter hanging more heavy of her conscience, she closed her eyes and turned away from her friend. In that one, simple action, it felt as if her heart had been crushed, but still she forced her heavy legs forward and moved to her father's side, shakily helping him to the ambulance when it finally arrived, with Alice, her sister, following close behind and her back remaining turned to the solemn face of the one person- ape that she didn't want to lose.

If she had known that, by the time she returned home, Caesar would be locked away somewhere that she'd never be able to see him again and apologize, even if Will tried to tell her otherwise, she might have chosen to follow a different path, the one she actually wanted to follow and would not have regretted immediately.

 **You guys have no idea how much it hurt me write this, but here you go!**

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	5. Where's My Goldfish?

Haley's father was eventually released from the hospital, his hand patched up with great care and skill, but unfortunately, along with him being released, so was the truth about her visits with "Emily" every Wednesday, and her father was furious. And so, Haley sat alone atop her balcony yet again, staring at her neighbor's attic dormer in search of some type of movement that she knew would never come, the door locked behind her to ensure she doesn't leave her room and try to sneak from the house again, as she has attempted a few times over the course of the past few weeks. She knew that Caesar was locked where she'd never be able to visit, not with how young she was and how uninfluential, but it didn't matter; she had to do something or get someone to help him.

Anxiously glancing at her bedroom door over her shoulder, once again making sure no one was coming upstairs, she moved closer to the edge of her balcony and pushed herself up onto the railing, never daring to gaze down to the ground below. She paused and took a deep breath to calm herself and to unwind her nerves, but finally, without a second more of hesitance in her actions, she leaped forward and into the air like an eagle, latching onto the tree besides her house with her hands. Her own, dead weight nearly made her slip from where she hung, but after clawing at the bark with her nails, she managed to get a stable hold, despite the last few weeks of inactivity. "Come on, Haley," She edged herself on in a whisper, "use your shoulders, kick your legs," she chanted, shifting her aim on the tree next to her, and followed the simple steps she's been taught, "swing, and let go—"

With a faint yelp, she swung herself to a lower branch on the next tree, but alas, the trees in her neighborhood were nothing like the redwood she's gotten used to, causing her sweaty palms to slide against the slick bark and for her body to crash against the stump that the branch was attached to, her legs luckily first. She hissed as splinters of wood dug into her scraped knees, but quickly bit her lip and chocked back her crave to cry for comfort before she climbed down the tree the rest of the way and ran to Will's house with a faint limp. Still, it was all for naught when she discovered no one was home; nevertheless, she knew the name of the place where Will worked and didn't waste time before she went to look for it. Fortunately, once you tell someone you're looking for your parents, who work at Gen-Sys, people are happy to help you find your way. Though, this didn't help her when she finally reached the large and towering company.

"Is that a kid?"

"Wait, you can't go in there!"

"Stop! Get back here!"

Like a slippery snake, Haley aimlessly sped through Gen-sys to find Will, her small body and innocent face coming in handy more times than she cared to count, and too many times to remember a few years in the future. It felt like forever before white lab coats became more frequent around her, familiar after all the times she's seen one lying around Will's house. Eventually, she finally heard his voice and paused in her steps, despite the crowd of scientists who were still chasing after her.

"It's a virus; we don't know the human-related effects."

Again, Haley jumped out of a few corners people were trying to lead her into and followed the argument that tickled her ears, but when she finally came close and the lab came into view, she nearly glided on the shimmering marble floors from her sudden stop, a nauseating chill traveling down her spine and her body running cold. Even when hands latched onto her shoulders, she remained petrified with horror.

"No more tests." Will announced, but as he rolled the foldable trolley around the corner, an unconscious ape inhumanely tossed on top of it by another scientist, the sight of the young girl was revealed to him and made him freeze, her hair disheveled worse than the Chimpanzees' around him and her shoulders rising and falling quickly while she tried to catch her breath, "Haley!? What are you doing here!?"

"I…" She croaked in some attempt to explain herself, but instead, her words were lost to her as her gaze wandered to the cages next to her. "I wanted to—" She tried again, but this time cut herself short with a childish gulp when her eyes fell on a nasty ape, his scarred face scowling at her and his one blind eye boring into her soul.

"What's this?" Jacobs interrupted finally, glaring at the crowd of scientists around her, "There can't be kids in here!"

"I'll take her home." Will said quickly and rolled the ape to the side of the room before he shooed the team to their positions and motioned Haley to the door. Unfortunately, it was only for her to quickly skid out of reach.

"B-But I want to help get Caesar out!" She yelled, her face crunched up with such determination that it was almost possible to forget how oblivious her statement seems to any grownup, reminding Will for a moment of a child's face when parents tell him or her that they set the goldfish free. That is, until he saw her brown eyes moving to the ape on the foldable trolley behind him, something he realized a kid her age should never see, just like the rest of the lab, especially after her friendship with Caesar. What he didn't know was that she already had ample time to take the sights in around her and to read the ape's tag, 'Cornelia.'

She didn't have time to think about what she saw or about Will's conversation with his boss, however, as she was led from the lab against her will and taken back home. She continuously protested and insisted that she can help get Caesar back, but Will's eyes only lit up when she mentioned that she has quarters saved up that he can use to "bail Caesar out," looking as if he got an idea – a desperate idea, all things considered, but an idea none the less. Yet, both of them forgot the subject entirely and felt relieved when her father ended up being too angry with her to press charges against Will.

That, of course, quickly changed when he had security bars installed across the entire balcony door and pretty much put Haley under house arrest. Never before has she been more annoyed by the fact that she was home-schooled, because now she had no reason to leave at all - just like Caesar, she was trapped.

 **Yeah, so… this one got a lot longer than intended. You guys are welcome, I suppose. '**


	6. Two Down

Haley sat in the darkness of her room with her knees pulled tightly against her chest and duvets wrapped around her twelve-year-old body like a cocoon. The thick material covered her in a suffocating heat, sweaty hair sticking to her forehead in noodle-like ropes of blonde locks, but she didn't budge to escape the warmth – she sat there, unmoving, like a statue.

It's been a week since apes from every resort, zoo, company, and cage stampeded through the city and to the forest in calculated groups, and Haley hasn't left her room since; in a way, she couldn't have, even if she wanted to. She barely had the chance to glimpse at the apes in the trees through the bars on her balcony and barely reached the front door in her rush to slip outside the house before her father acted and barricaded the exit with his own body. Since then, he kept the windows locked and made sure to take precautions on the front door, making it impossible for her to open it, even from the inside. In return, she refused to leave her room, acting like the child she was. _Maybe_ , she wondered, _if her mother was there, the woman would have understood and allowed Haley to go see her only friend_ , but she wasn't; her mother had her own, new family to take care of and cuddle after the scare on the Golden Gate Bridge. Even when Haley's father announced that he had to leave to go fly another bunch of people to some foreign land, she didn't move, nor graced him with a goodbye, or anything else.

Therefore, Haley gazed out of the glass doors to her balcony with lament eyes, and through a single gap in between the security bars and the decorative holes of the railing, she could see her father placing his suitcases in the trunk of his car.

"Haley?" Alice called carefully, poking her head into the room, "The babysitter is here."

Haley didn't say anything; she kept silent as she watched her father drive away in the tiny glimpses she was able to see, almost like the apes she had seen swinging through the trees a week ago, before helicopters and hunts were sent after them. Haley couldn't be sure if Caesar was still alive, but she had hope.

"Haley?" Her twin tried again, but interrupted herself with a sudden, nasty sneeze, finally compelling her sister to glance at her with worry. "I think I caught what dad has." She explained and chuckled sheepishly at Haley, but only to see her look away again, resting her cheek back on her knee, "Well… alright then. Sorry for bothering you."

Hearing the door close next to her, Haley sighed, her heart weighing even heavier with guilt, but she didn't call after her sister. Instead, she finally wormed out of her nest of blankets and slid her feet onto the floor beside her bed, the cool surface pleasantly tickling the bare soles like the cool air did the rest of her skin. With a slight wobble in her step thanks to refusing to eat a few times, she shuffled over to her desk and begun to search through her drawers and piles of picture books. It took her at least ten minutes to find what she was looking for and before a loud rip sounded across her bedroom. Using the tape she borrowed from her sister's room a few years ago, she stuck the picture to her wall, grateful that her father won't be there for a while to see it, get mad, and rip it off.

And so, she climbed back onto her bed and stood on top of it, swaying slightly on the springs inside of the mattress, and used her new height to jump to the ceiling with a small growl. With hands more desperate than ever, she grasped the wooden joist in the roof tightly, pulling her tiny body up and letting herself back down a few times before she swung to the next one, forcing her young arms to keep moving. "Use your shoulders, kick your legs, swing forward, and let go." She chanted like so many times before, all the while glancing towards the picture of the chimpanzee on her wall, as if hoping he will suddenly turn into Caesar and tell her if she's doing it correctly or not.

 _Maybe one day she will meet her friend again?_ In the many days following, where she repeated this taxing routine, she still wondered the same thing, again and again, fruitlessly.

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 **Aaaaaand voila! Hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to like, follow, and/or review! You guys and your reviews are what make my day, after all - no joke. ^^**


	7. Experienced Immune System

The dark hallway seemed like the path to hell as Haley gaze down at the telephone halfway to the end of it, the thing looking like the devil himself while she stared, its presence ghastly and wicked. The pops of guns and screeching of tires outside seemed to go unnoticed by her underneath her unwavering focus and overwhelming fear. The entire city seemed to have spun out of whack; people of every culture and religion labeled it as the end times and begun stocking up for survival, even if it meant breaking into stores and shopping malls wherever they went, while others screamed that it was 'god's divine punishment' or just killed anyone who showed symptoms to the Simian Flu or got near someone who did. People like Haley, however, hid in their homes in fear of being killed or harmed in the crossfire.

Finally, Haley forced herself to reach for the intimidating phone against her will, knowing she had no other choice. Her bloody fingers shook fiercely as she picked it up, the plastic rattling softly in her hand, and smeared its black surface in a thin layer of crimson, but, already grown used to the sickening color, she continued with pressing the stained, glowing numbers in a sequence she's memorized by now and pressed the device to her ear. But alas, the result stayed the same. "This is Douglas Hunsiker; I am unable to come to the phone right now," Her father's familiar voice sounded in her ear, "but leave a message after the beep if it's urgent – Beep."

"Daddy?" Haley whimpered, sniveling softly as she collapsed against beside cabinet, "I-It's Haley," she paused, "again. Please call back when you get this, because Alice… she's…" her voice trailed off into a few dreary sniffs, roughly wiping her red and puffy eyes, "she's not feeling too good. I think she's going to…" For a few minutes, Haley just listened to the silence on the other side and to the beeping when the limited time for her message was reached, but inevitably, she placed the phone back onto its rest above her head and stiffly rose back to her feet. Deep down, she knew her father was already dead, but she secretly hoped that he would answer the phone, just so she could pretend that Alice, too, will be alright. Sullenly, she made her way back down the hallway and stepped, unbothered, over the corpse of a young woman, her babysitter, that was splayed across the floor beside her, no longer even glancing to its bloody fingers tips and lips with childish curiosity.

By now, Haley knew it didn't help Alice's condition, but still she grabbed the Nyquil from the table on her way before she entered the bedroom, knowing that it would at least help her sleep. In the beginning, before the outbreak of the Simian Flu was announced, Haley might not have known the severity of Alice's condition, but even then she knew something was peculiar about it, because she wasn't growing ill. The day that Haley and her sister were born, the first didn't cry, nor move – she was as silent and still as death itself – and her parents nearly passed out from their state of panic, and even after she was healed and stayed in the hospital for the entire first year of her life, she grew older without a single day of not being sick, granting her a life away from anyone who wasn't clad in a blinding white lab coat and mask. There were times where she even resented her sister for always going unbothered by the diseases that were trying to kill her, but now the roles were reversed, and she prayed that she could be sick instead.

"Haley?" She heard the familiar, faint, croaking whisper as she slipped inside the room and sent her sister a ghostly smile before she sat down beside the bed, placing the medicine on the bedside table before taking Alice's tiny hand into her blistered own, "Where's the babysitter?"

Haley hesitated, giving Alice's hand a reassuring squeeze, but ultimately lied through her teeth, "She went home to her family. How are you feeling?"

"Better." Alice chuckled weakly, "My legs don't hurt anymore."

Of course, Haley has heard enough about the flu to know that wasn't a good thing, but still she didn't dare to mention it. "That's good." She responded halfheartedly and moved to pick the medicine back up, but quickly halted from one simple question, her body freezing instantly.

"Why are you still unaffected?" Alice asked, almost frightening her sister with her unfeeling tone, "How are you still alright? How are you," she stopped with a chilling fit of coughs, her free hand quickly moving to cover her bloody lips.

"I… don't know." Haley sobbed, her calm and strong demeanor breaking in an instant, and held her sister's hand against her forehead with both of her own, squeezing her eyes shut in some pointless attempt to stop the tears, her cheeks already burning from the hot and salty liquid. "I don't know." She repeated over and over again, shaking her head hopelessly while she silently pleaded, prayed, beseeched, and begged for some type of answer to Alice's question, but her despair was only amplified when she finally felt what she's been dreading for the last week: her sister's arm suddenly going limp in her grasp. "Sissy?" She breathed and hesitantly raised her head, her eyes growing wide in horror the moment they connected with an identical, unmoving, and unblinking pair. "Sissy!?" She cried and allowed her sister's hand to flop back onto the bed as she shot up, quickly reaching over and shaking Alice's unmoving body by her shoulders, "Wake up! Alice! Wake up! You can't—remember, Daddy will be mad when he comes back and you're not here!"

And yet, throughout her desperate screams and hopeless lies, she burned with rage. _It's their fault_ , she thought – yes, _all their fault_! Those animals took everything from her when they began to go against nature. They caused it all – all this death and destruction started with them – _ALL OF IT_! Without expecting anyone to ever answer her, she wondered when humans will finally realize that some boundaries should not be crossed, because now they even blame the ones who unwillingly participated in their ghastly experiments for something they created, themselves, in a lab somewhere. _'_

 _Please,'_ she begged again, _'can we just go back?'_

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 **Terrible chapter, I know(both in quality and context), but please remember to review, follow, and/or leave a like! ^^**


	8. Kidnapped At Nineteen

It's been eight years since the outbreak of the Simian Flu and it seemed as if things have begun to calm down. Wars have been fought, soldiers have died, and the population has dwindled significantly - everyone has suffered a loss and knew it needed to end. And, as we know, Haley wasn't unaffected. It's been years since she left her home, nothing and no one left to keep her there, and since then, her only goal has been survival, which has gotten easier and easier after the passing years. Back when the Flu was still the world's biggest problem, a casualty befell her city almost every week, whether it be by sickness of violence, and with every passing life, it became easier for her to find fresh food, the competition becoming less common. Today, she barely sees another human every six months or more, giving her free reign to eat whatever she pleased from the broken-windowed stores and personal greenhouses, but unfortunately, meat, fruits, and vegetables don't last forever or grows throughout the year, so she needed to take precautions and teach herself how to find alternatives. Thus, every few days, she climbed down her nest atop one of the apartment buildings, the only place she was able to find asylum from the rampaging people at the time, and scampered away from the city.

Slowly, Haley took a breath from where she stood atop the shallow cliff, one hand tightly wound around the center of a bow while two fingers elegantly pinched the feathers of a homemade arrow and pulled the bow's string to her cheek with great force. With her back straight and chest puffed, the powerful muscles in her shoulders, arms, and stomach pulled to where their outlines were clear, the fragile young body she once had long-since lost underneath her disheveled, nineteen-year-old figure. Unfortunately, redwood forests were dimly lit and dark, making it nearly impossible to spot the wildlife inside of it, not to mention that most of its furry creatures were nocturnal, but still she was able to hope. Below her, never so much as thinking of looking above its head, a Black-Tailed Deer foraged for its next tasty meal and remained ignorant to its observer. Taking another steady breath, careful not to make a sound, Haley paused with uncertainty of her aim before she finally let the string go, allowing the arrow to whip through the air with a blurring speed. The deer raised its head and it's ears perked up at the unsuspected sound, but it was too late – with a dull and ironically gentle jabbing sound, the deer fell to the mossy ground, birds screeching violently from above as they sped into the sky for safety.

Back when Haley finally realized the food was going to expire, she had set out to find something that would help her hunt, but she only ended up staring at the guns in stores with innocent, young, and fearful eyes for what felt like hours before she made her decision to focus on something a bit more... 'primitive'. Yet, it took her at least four years to teach herself how to hit a moving target with something as complicated as archery, and then another two years to master the technique. Even then, she waited until she was in dire need of food before she finally dared to go into Muir Woods, knowing exactly what, and who, claimed the property as their own.

Smiling proudly, Haley slid her bow and arrow back into the holster on her back before she jumped from the cliff and into the trees in front of her, swinging like an ape from branch to branch without any trouble, and made her way to the dying deer before she jumped back onto the forest floor, causing a painful wave of electricity to shoot up her bare feet, forcing a groan pass her lips. Still, she quickly moved to the animal's side and repeated the same process she's done too many times, swiftly pulling a blade from the strap around her leg and sliding the sharp steel into the animal's neck, putting it out of its misery with one slick motion. However, just as she was about to pick the small deer up from the ground, a loud crack interrupted her, and almost immediately she had her bow and arrow aimed again. She whisked around to where the sound came from, but no one and nothing was there to see; nevertheless, she kept her guard up. Torturously slow, she shifted on her knee, keeping her guard up, and looked around her, her own breathing loud in her ears while she searched for the cause to the alarming sound, but the farther she turned and the more she saw, the more she seemed to prolong those last few degrees. High above her head and leering down at her from in the trees, they began to grab her attention one by one. First there was one, but the farther she looked, the more they became; one, two, three, four, five, fifteen, twenty – she counted. She grew terrified underneath their painted scowls, even their wet and sweaty fur aiding in her terror, but nonetheless, her arm slacked on the string of her bow as she gulped. Staring into their apish faces and eyes, she knew she wouldn't be able to attack, even if her intent was to protect herself, not after her personal experience with their kind, but when she saw no familiar face in between their dozens, she made a choice she knew was dangerous: she shot to her feet and ran, slipping the bow and arrow back in their holster. She heard one of them scream before the leaves rustled violently around her, the sound staying on her heels no matter how far she ran. Closer and closer, they swung; it was only by luck that she soon reached another steep hill, compelling a grateful smile to her lips before she, once again, leaped into the air. She latched onto the branches and swung as fast as she could, but alas, something soon collided with her side, a powerful arm wrapping around her like a cage. For a moment, she thought she was reliving the memory of Caesar saving her from a deadly fall like he did so many times, but this theory shattered the very instant that it felt as if her ribs were being crushed by her _savior's_ arm, making her grunt and writhe underneath the ape's hold – Caesar's nature was never so rough. Yet, she had a sinking feeling that he was the very ape they were taking her to for trespassing on their property, but it was hard to be sure from all the thrashing and tossing she was forced to go through mid-air, almost like a sack of potatoes, which made it impossible to even glimpse at their signing.

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 **Remember to review, like, and/or follow! ^^ It means the world to me!**


	9. I Am Dying

Haley could've sworn she heard the sickening pop of her shoulder dislocating when the ape holding her had finally tossed her to the hard ground – however, she was still quick to kick away from the apes and scrape her body through the mud to the point where she was close enough to their looming fortress to gape up at it and then attempt to dash as far as possible in the opposite direction – but now, as her wrists were tied above her head to a mossy and dead wooden pole like she was a prisoner, with her butt resting in unwelcomed mud and her only pair of pants soaking up water like a sponge, the adrenaline wore out of her system enough that the pounding in her shoulder made it quite clear that something was wrong – though, it wasn't urgent. Thus, as she waited for a supposed hunting party to return with their leader, the apes never realizing she was able to understand every gesture they made in their discussion, she decided there were more important things and grew nervous – she didn't want to see Caesar again, not with how their last encounter ended. She was deathly afraid, maybe even terrified, at the idea that when he sees her, he would turn his back her way, like she had done towards him. That was why she had been so scared to venture into the woods in the first place; she knew she'd run into him eventually. ' _Then again,'_ she wondered and gazed down at herself, ' _would he even recognize me?'_

Her bright blonde hair has grown all the way to her abdomen from their past rest on her shoulders, and has slowly been crystallized and dyed a nauseating brown from all the dirt and dried blood she unwittingly collected over time. Her skin was covered in hardened mud and hundreds of scratches and bruises that were aching to heal, easy to see thanks to the oversized shirt and sweatpants that struggled to cling to her shoulders and hips, the latter tied to her slim frame by a thick, braided rope that folded the material in odd and annoying places. Her previously bright and beady honey-colored eyes have become hard and cold, like a rusty shade of dirt to balance out with the layer of earth that already covered her face. The only thing that hasn't changed much about her was things that should have grown in her teenage years, but no, she remained like the curve-less and flat-chested kid Caesar knew way back when. Luckily, she's been too occupied with survival to really care – so why did she feel self-conscious now? She merely shook her head at the thought and shifted to make herself more comfortable in the puddle, which seemed pointless when a giant suddenly crashed onto the ground in front of her, making the Earth rumble and her butt shake back out of place. Stiffly, Haley gazed up at the stranger and felt her jaw slack into a gape the higher she looked. Standing right in front of her, his body nearly four times her size, stood a gorilla that was purely made of muscle and strength, his leathery face contorted into a ghastly scowl. "No, get back!" She screamed on instinct as the giant gorilla unexpectedly stepped towards her, pressing herself back against the wood to keep the distance between them, but as he (she assumed it was a 'he') reached over her head, she unwillingly begun to calm down.

"Get… back?" She tried again, seeming unsure, and watched his dark hands in dismay as he leaned to the pole behind her and banged his fists down on it a few times, forcing the wood to bury deep enough into the ground that he could pull the rope around her wrists up and slip her ties over the pole's top, freeing her without her even moving an inch. She dropped her hands onto her lap immediately and pulled the rope off of her wrists before massaging them to relieve the strain, all while keeping her shocked eyes on the ape that freed her. Shakily, she flattened her dominant hand and pressed the inside of her fingers to her lips before motioning the same hand his way gracefully. _"Thank you."_ She signed discretely, not wanting the others to discover her little secret, and naturally, she had assumed that the apes couldn't understand human speech. She watched in confusion as the giant unexpectedly froze and stared at her in disbelief – and Luca, he just wondered why she kept her ability to understand sign language to herself – but any further thought from either of them was interrupted.

Suddenly, all the apes fell into a pleased uproar, some hooting while others gibbered and screeched, and when the gorilla finally stepped out of the way to join the others in their welcoming of the hunters, Haley's heart sank. He was older, taller, and more mature, his eyes darkened just like hers, if not more, but she recognized him instantly and paled at the sight. What broke her even worse was the fact that, even if she hoped for it, she saw no recognition in his bright green eyes when they met hers – not even a glimmer or flicker of familiarity. She could feel her body shaking with an odd sense of trepidation and it took grabbing the tiny patch of grass beside her for her body to settle.

At the sight of the young woman, however, Caesar had a very different feeling that flickered to life inside of him: anger and disappointment. Disappointment for a human finally invading their sanctuary, as he always dreaded one would, and anger for an ape bringing her there. Unlike what Haley saw, however, he did feel an odd sense of familiarity when he gazed into her dark brown eyes, his brows furrowing by that fact.

Haley watched as her old friend turned to the ape beside him, her gaze darkening at the mere sight of that specific ape. Unlike the other apes, his fur wasn't nearly as slick and strangely well-kept as the others'; fur was barely seen on his pale grey skin, dating him much older than the others, and his permanently-frowned face and natural underbite were completely nude. She couldn't help but note how much shorter the ape seemed to be than Caesar, but soon wondered if it was just the heights that both of them held themselves in. Just then, Haley looked around and realized something she, in a way, already knew, allowing her to gape in disbelief: all of them kept themselves low around her old friend… _Caesar was their leader!_

 _"What's human doing in camp, Rocket?"_ She watched Caesar sign, him clearly looking a bit annoyed, and shifted her attention onto the ape, Rocket, next to him, almost like she was watching a tennis match and waited for his response. He hooted apologetically in response to his leader's unsuspecting annoyance, his chipped lips pulling back and unintentionally showing Haley his threatening canines before he signed, _"Found her close and thought Caesar wanted to know, so brought her."_

"Hah!" Haley mocked without thinking, but didn't bother to stop when all the apes turned her way, knowing she can't exactly take it back – the best she could do was explain her reasons, "Brought me? You practically _kidnapped_ me! My shoulder still hurts, and so do my ribs!" In any other circumstance, she would have felt a tug of amusement from their confused faces, but she knew their confusion didn't mean good things for her; luckily, the gorilla, still in front of her, took it upon himself to explain. _"She knows sign language."_ He signed.

With that, all other subjects seemed to get dropped, Caesar's eyes narrowing as he begun to move her way – she knew it was strange, but oh, how she missed seeing that apish limp he had, it being one of the odd things she saw everywhere after he was taken out of her life. On that note, she quickly paled, remembering the fact that she didn't want Caesar to recognize her, despite how much that hurt too, and how getting too close to her could definitely shatter that hope. And so, she quickly ran her eyes over the towering, spiked walls around the village and found what she was looking for. Against her better judgment – that is, if she took the time to think it through – she suddenly shot to her feet and dashed towards the giant tree next to them, assuming that, just maybe, if she could reach it, she could swing from its branches and leap over the wall beside it towards safety. But alas, she didn't get far before the same blasted pair of arms wrapped around her and halted her escape – even though, this time she quickly felt the arms loosen around her once she stopped, compelling her to glance over her shoulder to the captor in shock. _Was he actually paying attention to how she said he hurt her?_

"How many?"

With a cliff-like plummet, her thoughts were dropped into an endless void of pure, unadulterated dismay, her eyes shooting huge immediately. She could've sworn she heard her stiff neck creak as she turned her head back to Caesar, studying him with such intent that he felt impossibly exposed, all the way down to his soul. _He couldn't have_ , she thought in disbelief, her legs and arms growing heavy and unmoving in their place, as if wanting to keep her there until she was certain she heard what she heard, _did he speak!?_

"How many humans left?" He grunted in an attempt to question her again, his voice so gruff and deep that it made her flinch back into Rocket. Still, despite him repeating his words, she couldn't answer – she couldn't speak at all. From only her shock, her throat has turned dull, dry, and tight, as if a lump of lead had gotten stuck. _He can speak_ , she admitted despite what her brain was telling her to believe, _how…?_

Eventually, she noticed the crowd of his _people_ was growing restless at her insolence for not answering his question immediately, forcing her back to her senses. "J-Just me." She croaked weakly and quickly cleared her throat to speak more clearly, "It's just me," she said again, "I haven't seen another human in over a year now."

 _"Human lies,"_ she saw another ape interrupted with a screech, and cowered a bit when other apes echoed his exclamation, _"should follow to find others – make them leave."_

While Caesar gave the new party a conflicted look, as if he wanted to agree with him but couldn't, Haley took her chance to study the other and gasped immediately – just like Caesar, she recognized him instantly. His scarred face, blind eye, and leer made it impossible for her not to, even if she had only seen him once. Again, the ape somehow sent a shiver down her spine without even bothering to try. "I am not lying!" Haley protested pass her fear when she finally processed what Scar told the ape leader, seeming a bit hesitant despite her volume, "My family died many years ago, when I was still a child."

At that, Caesar gave her the same uncertain look he had given his follower before he attempted to limp towards her again – this time, no matter how much she suddenly thrashed in Rocker's still-binding arms, she couldn't avoid Caesar looming over her, and the moment he did, she gulped against her growing nerves – ' _please, don't recognize me_.'

 _"Then how does human sign?"_ He signed, as if testing her to see if the previous time was a fluke.

"My close friend's father once taught me." She hummed, technically still telling the truth, and lowered her head, "My friend could only sign."

 _"And them?"_

She paused, "The father died of the Simian Flue a few years after mine did. I went to see him once, but only to find him and his wife's corpses holding each other on the couch – only his son survived." She could feel her heart stop for a moment in dread when she realized her slip-up, her mouth growing dry.

"Survived –" He spoke with a furious growl that made her head shoot up in alarm, but strangely enough, she didn't feel panicked, "—so humans do lie."

"I… never said the son- that the son was human." She admitted with a hopeless and miserable breath, her legs suddenly going numb underneath the anxiety that burned through her body – _so much for attempting to hide her identity_ , she thought, _she just painted her name across her forehead herself_. It took a few minutes of eerie silence and her only staring into Caesar's eyes with sympathy and a silent plea for understanding before his frown faded into disbelief and she officially knew he realized who she was, the bright honey-colored flecks in her dark gaze unmistakable. At once, she dropped her head and bared her teeth in an attempt to bite back her tears, her body finally falling slack in Rocket's arms as guilt officially overwhelmed her, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed without a sound. "I'm sorry." She let slip pass her lips as the arms around her pulled back, their hands grasping her upper arms and guiding her down onto her knees, as if Rocket was suddenly afraid to touch her in her state. "I'm so sorry!" She only cried louder when she was let free, her hands quickly covering her eyes when salty tears spilled down her nose, cheeks, and chin and dripped into the puddle of mud by her knees, "I'm so sorry! My father," she sniffed and hiccupped, "I wanted to help you, but he – and when I heard you were gone – I am so sorry!"

She could hear what sounded like a shaky sigh of relief coming from Caesar, but only continued shaking with agonizing sobs. She couldn't see as he, too, sank down to his knees and placed his leathery hand behind her neck before he pressed his forehead roughly against hers, shutting his eyes in content, which only made her cries turn louder and morph into wails. Yet, he never let go. Way back then, when Haley turned away and left with her father, he had seen how she was unknowingly dragging her feet and gave her true choice away, so when he was gazing out of his charcoal-excuse of an attic window in his cell, he was imagining those times where they used to make funny faces to each other when she couldn't visit him – the entire time he was there, he missed his friend, and when he was forced to assume she had been killed by the virus like so many others, he was tormented by the assumption. "Welcome home." Caesar whispered to her, and watched with slight amusement as she jolted back in shock, her tears and sobs halting immediately – _that's one way of calming her_ , he thought. Only then, however, did he finally look around to find many apes looking extremely uncomfortable with what had happened, glancing between each other for answers, and felt thankful that they couldn't hear him welcoming her to the village.

Haley, still struck with disbelief at his words while her heart pounded in her ears, watched as Caesar rose and turned to address apes, but before he even had the chance, Scar seemed to put some pieces together for himself, the fact that she knew Caesar somehow clicking something in his memory. _"Human tried saving Caesar."_ He signed in quick and firm movements, not seeming too happy by his own words – words which startled every single ape, even Caesar, himself, _"Came to Gen-Sys, asking to help Caesar."_

 _/_ _"I…" She croaked in some attempt to explain herself, but instead, her words were lost to her as her gaze wandered to the cages next to her. "I wanted to—" She tried again, but this time cut herself short with a childish gulp when her eyes fell on a nasty ape, his scarred face scowling at her and his one blind eye boring into her soul._

 _"What's this?" Jacobs interrupted finally, glaring at the crowd of scientists around her, "There can't be kids in here!"_

 _"I'll take her home." Will said quickly and rolled the ape to the side of the room before he shooed the team to their positions and motioned Haley to the door. Unfortunately, it was only for her to quickly skid out of reach._

 _"B-But I want to help get Caesar out!" She yelled, her face crunched up with such determination that it was almost possible to forget how oblivious her statement seems to any grownup, reminding Will for a moment of a child's face when parents tell him or her that they set the goldfish free._ _/_

Haley felt oddly bashful when Caesar glanced her way to confirm the ape's statement, but still forced herself to nod through her embarrassment. _"Human is ally,"_ She watched Caesar announce, her heart soaring at his words, and saw him exchange an agreeing look with a large orangutan, who stood, unmoving, next to the wall at the edge of the village, _"and is the last human close – she'll stay here."_

Even Scar seemed to want to protest, despite him having given Caesar the leverage to _voice_ his decision in the first place, but it didn't seem to matter as Caesar turned back to his old friend and helped her back to her feat, leading her away without an explanation. Confused, Haley still followed and merely glanced uncertainly to the troop of apes behind her as the two of them ascended the odd spiral around the tree and made their way to the tree house at its top. She only hesitated once they reach the doorway and Caesar motioned her inside – she didn't know why, but the sight of the entrance made her heart clench with a sense for impending doom. Only when she slipped inside and gazed upon the beautiful female ape, a young ape attached to her chest, did this ache amplify to the point where Haley was petrified against her will, her body running cold.

 _"Wife and son."_ Caesar signed the words with a delight that made the pain even worse, _"This is—"_

"Cornelia." Haley cut him off with a single, strained breath, "I know; your father… he tried saving her."

To her luck, the horror and inner agony she felt was mistaken for shock as she was made to explain what she meant, but while she spoke, she reminded herself how happy she should be that Caesar found love and wondered:

 _Why does my heart hurt so much then? So much that the pain is worse than dying. Please, don't tell me that I... towards Caesar..._

 **THIS. GOT. LONG. (o.o) But it was their reunion, though, so I couldn't help it!**

 **Anyways… I feel the need to thank you all (FallWindWhispers,** **megascopstrichopsis** **, Estrella, Sabri, Mauryn,** **mackenzierae04** **, and Ant) for the support you've given me so far. It means so much and I truly feel blessed to know you're all doing this with me. Just a warning, too: my updates may get a bit slower now, now that college was kicked back into gear. That's right... I am a adult. Yuck, right? Lmao, kidding.**


	10. AN

**Necessary SPOILER!**

Okay, I know we all get annoyed by A/Ns, but as my fans expand to different tastes, I feel the need to give you all a warning: Koba is going to die. As much as I even adore this character, he is going to end up acting similar to how he did in Dawn; though, this time his reasons are going to be a bit different... Yeah, no, I am not going to spoil any more.

In War Technicalities, he's actually going to be seen as a major villain to some in more ways than just hating humans and betraying Caesar, while, to those like me, he will be seen in a different kind of light and rather be 'understood' for what he did.

Anyways, that's all. I just thought it'd be wise to warn those Koba fans in case they don't want to read about the casualty again. I still love you all and would understand if you'd prefer to step away -- really.

 **Oh! And would any of you guys be interested in a Davy Jones (POTC) drabble story like this? I don't actually know if any of you are even POTC fans or not, but who knows... Worth a try.**


	11. I See You

Haley felt proud that she was able to give Caesar some consolation about what had happened to his father when the pandemic broke out and that society was too alarmed by it to arrest or persecute him for playing part in its creation. She was happy to tell him that he wasn't left to die in prison, but again, Haley felt herself biting harshly into her cheek and unintentionally drawing blood when she was stopped from moving to Caesar's side for comfort when Cornelia did so first, pressing her forehead against his like he had done to Haley minutes before. The beautiful ape reassured him after he had been petrified at the news of what his father tried to do for the apes in Gen-sys, and in a single moment, Haley felt as if she was farther away from Caesar than ever, just able to watch him being held by his new family. She felt her stomach lurch with the painful truth that they can't just go back to where they were. Only the feeling of eyes drilling into the side of her head snapped her back into reality, her own dreary expression coming to her attention. Quickly, she perked the corners of her lips into a forced and ghostly smile before sending the young ape, Blue Eyes, a reassuring look, able to see a flicker of worry in his bright blue eyes. It oddly flattered her to know he was concerned about whatever was worrying her. Despite how the obvious reason for her aches and jealous pangs pecked at her mind, Haley was glad that her old friend had a son, especially one that looks so much like him. The reason being that, when studying the child with his height so much closer to her's than Caesar, memories of her past with his father resurfaced quickly, of when they were kids.

But of course, even if those memories resurfaced, she followed him back down the tree and studied his grown frame discretely from behind, eventually flushing when she realized what she was doing before quickly looking away. She felt the need to tell herself that she was imagining her feelings and her unnatural thought, but the more she thought back to their times together, like when he taught her to swing from tree to tree, him catching and saving her life, the harder she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, forcing her to grasp her tattered shirt by her chest to try and get it to calm down. _Why now all of a sudden?_ _Was it because his demeanor was so much more mature_ , she wondered and raised her head to trail her rust-colored eyes over his broad, strong shoulders again, and then over his entire physique, to see if she was right. Maybe it was everything about him that suddenly coaxed this from her, she theorized, too, but it really didn't matter, because she knew it was wrong whichever way, and it couldn't possible last. Once she gets used to his new appearance, this attraction will fade, but something about the fact that she shamefully broke her stare when they reached the line of sight of other apes at the bottom of the path made her doubt it _._ Something about looking away forced her to realize it wasn't temporary, as if she'd be open about what she was feeling if it was something so trivial _. So it's not attraction then,_ she pondered slowly, though the dreaded answer came instantly: she really felt more for Caesar than she should - much more. She likes him. _Oh Gods_ , she immediately thought in disbelief, _she really was a corrupted child, wasn't she? He's an ape!_

Sighing to herself, for a moment feeling relieved that Caesar wasn't paying attention, she distracted herself with the village around her for the first time, ignoring the squelching of her feet in the mud and ignoring the heads that continued to turn her way grudgingly. Despite the faces almost morphing together thanks to their deep frowns of contortion, she attempted to memorize a few of them and tried to figure out what they were doing. Though, despite ignoring the distaste the apes showed, she made sure to hold herself lower, not wanting to disrespect their leader in front of them. Somehow, she knew they wouldn't take too kindly to it. Eventually, her eyes settled on a group of toddlers, if she could call them that - she wasn't sure- and stumbled a bit in her step as she gaped, seeing them huddled together like a primary class while the familiar orangutan patiently taught them, just like Will once taught Caesar. She surely realized it before, but now that she saw it for herself, she couldn't believe the intelligence the apes have developed - then again, as someone who grew up with Caesar until the "ape apocalypse" happened, she wasn't even sure what apes used to be like when she was a child. After all, she was never healthy enough to go to Zoos, so the apes that now surround her... they were the only ones she knew. She silently wondered if she'll even be able to see a chimpanzee in the light they used to live in. This thought quickly ceased when the orangutan looked her way, his unreadable face so different from the disdain around him, and she felt herself relax to a point of Zen when he nodded her way. It was as if his motion was silently reassuring her that everything will work itself out. Again she fell into thought. She wondered why his and Caesar's behavior make it seem as if the orangutan knew of her existence from the very start? 'C _aesar spoke about me_ ,' she theorized, but openly shook her head, _'No, don't think like that; don't make yourself hope.'_

"Here." Caesar's gruff voice quickly interrupted her inner ramblings and made her head snap up into attention, only for her heart to swell with warmth when she saw him standing next to and holding open the leafy door of a disheveled old hut. Just like numerous other homes, this hut rested against the side of a steep hill with seemingly little effort - clearly, the structures were well built. And somehow, Haley already knew why they were there. As a result, she sent Caesar a look of utter shock before she carefully moved inside, her twinkling eyes studying the interior of the small house with awe, taking in the sight of moist wood and the rope that was made from some type of dead plant, used to tie the pieces together. Large leaves rest atop the structure to keep out the rain, and although she could still see some water dripping through the roof, it was a better alternative to living without one for more years down the line, like she's being doing in the past. "I love it." Haley admitted with an honest chuckle before turning back to Caesar, who still stood comfortably in the doorway and gibbered in satisfaction with her response. She openly hesitated before she continued, "I'm glad you were able to find a life here, Caesar. I was worried."

 _"Haley will, too."_ He signed without hesitance, his face remained perfectly still and serious, _"You're family."_

"That's nice." She forced a small chuckle - _yes, that's right, and family don't fall in love with family, Haley_ \- before she sent him an empathetic smile, hinting a teasing look, "And you found other family, too, didn't you? A father - never pegged you for a smooth oppingnator, or whatever my mom called her son."

'That's right,' she told herself, 'just be playful and this feeling will fade away so joy can become real - eventually.'

Caesar hooted an apish laugh and gave Haley a dismissive wave to insist she doesn't say another word, forcing her to giggle earnestly. "I should get some sleep." She suggested, motioning to the nest of leaves and twigs that already stood in the center of her new home, relieved to see Caesar nod in agreement. She didn't realize that he only agreed because she looked tired whenever she smiled, and him having no idea her reason was because the surface was as far as her smiles went, "Goodnight, Caesar."

 _"Goodnight."_ He signed before slipping back out of sight, finally allowing her façade of joy to break in an instant, her butt crashing down onto the nest behind her while her face fell, misery clear as it contorted on its own. She didn't want time alone to think about the trouble that just showed itself, but she was forced to sit there for what felt like forever while she caught the breath she didn't know she held. Her body silently shook like she ran miles in a single minute, but as soon as that familiar shiver overwhelmed her, she stopped and looked around. It was easy to spot his watchful gaze and familiar leering out of all the apes that could be seen passing her open doorway - Scar. But it was mostly because he was the only one just standing there, staring at her. She had no idea how long he had been studying her, but as sleep nagged at her, she really didn't care and nonchalantly just rose back to her feet, adjusted the door into place, and laid down, ready to snore for a few hours until morning comes. Maybe she'd have forgotten about her feelings by then.

 **Thank you all for understanding! It means a lot! ^^ As well as a thank you for all these reviews and comments... this one story officially has more feedback than all of my other stories COMBINED and they've been up for about a year (most of them). Caesar sends his love to all you amazing sweethearts as a special thank you, btw, and he would also like to know if you can tell him why Koba and Haley's been acting strange and awkward around each other. Shhhhh~ he can't know. ;)**


	12. Winter Nights

Haley hugged her knees tightly to her chest as she gazed down at the village from her spot atop of the watchtower, seeing everyone preparing for nightfall. It wasn't her post, but it was inside of the walls to which she was currently confined and the farthest she could get from the chilly waterfall next to her hut. Her three weeks of living with the apes has flown by faster than she ever thought time could move, being so used to living alone and without a soul to talk to, and every day it felt as if nature was trying to weigh winter down even more harshly. The apes seemed unaffected by the frosty breeze and mud – though, even she felt satisfying warmth whenever she saw apes huddling together at night, like they would freeze to death of they broke from each other – but her nude skin and skinny limbs shook violently at night when she was trying to fall sleep. None of the apes seemed to realize the fact that she would surely die of Hypothermia soon – at least, that is what it felt like to Haley as she hugged her legs even more tightly to herself, trying to thaw herself down. Only when she was startled to a small jump thanks to the wood suddenly creaking below her, was she convinced that she was still able to move in the cold.

She watched, justifying uncomfortable, as Koba appeared at the edge of the watchtower and climbed on top of it, but as soon as he saw she was there, he gibbered with dissatisfaction. Back when she arrived and he spoke up about her having tried to save Caesar, she had an inkling that maybe she was wrong about him, that he's just bad around people and that she shouldn't judge him for the way he appeared to be, but after that day, he's openly spoken out against having a human at the Village many times and glared at her nearly every single chance he got – she was pretty sure that it was only out of respect for Caesar that he didn't toss her over the side of the cliff – which was so different from the other apes, who did their best to try and honor their leader's wishes and accept her. She could feel another pair of eyes following her wherever she went, but after failing to catch whoever the ape was, she shrugged it off and assumed it was Koba, too. This is what made it doubly odd when Koba just huffed an annoyed puff of air and sat down next to her on the tower a few feet away. Discretely, she glanced to him a few times, shifting nervously where she sat, and attempted to figure out what he was doing there. She knew he wasn't there to take the post, because Rocket was assigned to it for the day and he, being the brash but shockingly kind ape she discovered him to be, left with on one condition: for her to stay until he came back.

 _"Stop staring."_ Koba interrupted briskly, not even glancing her way as he signed, only lucky that she glanced his way at the time.

"I'm not." Haley denied with a scoff immediately and forced her eyes back onto the apes below and into her initial stare – she froze, the truth dawning on her with an agonizing blow.

 _"One eye is enough to see."_ Koba pointed out with a furious gibber, but while Haley knew exactly what he was getting at, she remained determined to deny it, even if her gaze lingered on a singular figure, who she's been watching for a while without even realizing it – Koba clearly did, however.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She grumbled and ripped her eyes off of Caesar in the distance, "You're the one who's been staring at me ever since I got here."

 _"Caesar is ape."_ He simply continued, barely seen through the corner of her eye, and caused a weight of truth to crash down on her shoulders – it wasn't like she didn't know that.

"Alright already," Haley finally snapped and whisked around to scowl at him, her brown eyes almost looking like a fiery red in anger, "If you have a point, make it!"

 _"Human have no place here_." He signed with a faint growl, baring his yellow and stained canines at her, and finally graced her with his own stare – though, she would've preferred it if he kept his frightening gaze to himself, _"No place beside Caesar left where human wants to be."_

Her blood boiled at his words, with her jaw clenching tightly by the fact that she knew he wasn't wrong about the fact that she wanted to stand next to Caesar as more than a friend, which wasn't possible anymore, "You're being ridicule—"

Luckily, before the argument could escalate any further, Rocket came to her aid and allowed her to flee the tower to escape Koba's observing eye and to return to her hut for another night of fighting herself to sleep, all while ignoring the feeling of eyes still trailing her every step. She couldn't believe he already discovered her feelings for his leader when it took her eight years to notice it for herself; the mere idea left a vile and persistent taste in her mouth. In fact, she could still taste it as she curled into her personal nest, pointlessly attempting to steal some heat from the dead plants. It took an hour before she finally begun to drift off into a much-needed sleep, but alas, just as the welcomed darkness set in, a heavy body suddenly dropped down at her door and shuffled inside behind her. Too tired and cold to move quickly, she wasn't able to jump away from the intruder in shock and could only turn herself around stiffly, her drooped eyes barely widening when she saw the giant orange figure looming over her, despite sitting down. Staring into his small green eyes, him not making a single sound, it didn't take her long to recognize the feeling of him watching her so closely and realized who had been watching her for so long – him. _But why?_

Cooing gently in the pendulous sack underneath his chin, Maurice reached down, hoisted her limp body out of the nest with her arms and legs dangling loosely around her, and laid himself down before he placed her down next to him and wrapped one of his long arms around her. Her body felt as if it moved on its own when she curled up against him like a cat, her figure immediately growing warmer – only as the warmth got sucked into her core did she realize that he must have been watching her because he knew she was freezing in the winter nights.

Through blurred eyes, she watched as Maurice signed next to her, _"Don't mind Koba – he thinks feelings like love and hate are controlled,"_ he held her closer, still feeling her body shake from the cold, _"he wants to be able to believe his hate of humans is his choice, not something created by humans, themselves."_

Honestly, she couldn't bring herself to say anything, and so, she simply nodded into his long fur before slipping into her dreams. She wondered if he knew exactly how much she needed to hear that.

Since then, she slept next to Maurice every night, who turned out to be her newest friend.

* * *

 **Remember to leave more of those lovely comments I love so much! ^^ Oh, and feel free to leave some likes and follows, too.**


	13. The Next Hunter

Haley's cold, bluish fingertips felt nothing as she pinched the silky feathers of her arrow and grasped the center of her bow, only able to hope that she held it tight enough in her dead hand. Taking a shaky breath, she pulled the tough string back and aimed into the distance besides her, the sight of the black bear turned blurry and no bigger than the tip of her arrow. Nevertheless, for the third time that hour, she exhaled quickly with a puff of white smoke and slumped her weapon down in front of her, letting it crash against her lower abdomen. Immediately, she heard Rocket screeching in front of her to protest to her actions, or lack thereof, which only made her roll her eyes. After living inside the giant fortress for more than a month, Haley was finally allowed to leave, Caesar actually taking it upon himself to apologize for the apes taking so long to trust her enough, but her joy was morphed into confusion when Rocket slipped her weapon into her arms and led her away, apparently just to make her kill the large black bear, who still hunted, unbothered, for fish in a foreign river.

"I can't do it, alright?" Haley groaned and pulled her gaze away from the unsuspecting target to give her ape friend a conflicting look, "I just can't."

 _"Seen human do it."_ He pointed out through his frustrated hoots, _"Before ape followed human and took human back to village."_

"Yeah, when you kidnapped me." Haley scoffed under her breath, but quickly shook her head, dismissing the subject, "And that isn't what I mean. I know I can kill it, but I have no reason to – I need a reason. Killing things is not something I can do for sport."

Quickly, Rocket grew silent, finally understanding the predicament Haley found herself in – that is, in some way; he thought she must've realized the reason by now. Grunting softly, he nodded back to the village, compelling Haley's gaze to follow. _"Apes hunt,"_ He signed in the corner of her eye while she watched from afar as the next group of apes got ready to search for food, the cause for her and Rocket's outing quickly dawning on her, _"human better with bow and arrow and long-range attack."_

As bad as it was, Haley knew he was right and that he wouldn't lie to her, so, as she nibbled anxiously at the inside of her lip, she pondered her choices and identified the motivation for what she must do. Inevitably, she took another breath, this time steady and slow, and re-positioned her aim on the bear. As routine, she puffed out her chest and straightened her back underneath her tattered and filthy shirt, and, wasting no time at all, she let the string slip gracefully from her fingertips. The bear's roar vibrated across the woods as the arrow pierced its ribs, but only a moment later, it glimpsed at Haley in between the trees and begun to charge, making Rocket, as well as a few observing apes by the village, screech in alarm. Repeating her process, however, Haley simply ignoring the harsh sounds around her and forced herself to remain calm down while she aimed again, also cursing herself for getting so rusty over the past few weeks. Again, an arrow whisked through the air at her command, but as the sharp weapon pierced its target perfectly, its tip slicing through the fragile surface of an eye and burying itself deeply into the soft tissues of the brain, the bear didn't make a sound and simply tumbled against the ground in loud crashes until it halted and laid as still as a corpse. Haley's hair whipped high into the air as a crowd of apes suddenly sped pass her to the animal in order to carry its carcass back for food, only Rocket staying long enough to give her a proud pat on her shoulder, but unlike them, Haley's curious eyes were glued to the stream the bear once stood in, and absentminded slipped her bow and arrow back into their lonely holster for the first time in what felt like forever.

Skillfully, she slipped pass the apes unnoticed and made her way to the shallow water, hesitating for a moment before she crouched down and dipped her hand into the clear liquid. She gasped, delighted, as the dirt on her skin quickly washed away, just in time before the chilly water became too much and she needed to stuff her hand into her pocket to reclaim some heat. Swiftly glancing back and waving to Rocket, just to signal that she'll be right back, she stared upstream for a minute before she followed it all the way back to its origins, instantly made to gape up at the humongous waterfall that stood entirely separate from the one at the village, large hills and thick patches of trees surrounding it and masking it from the outside world.

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 **I can't believe I've had this idea in my head for years and always hesitated about writing it, especially after seeing how much you all seem to love it and after a week of me never seeming to get bored with writing it, unlike my numerous other stories.**


	14. Hell's Beginning

"Maurice!" Haley called over the other apes when she saw the large orangutan making his way through the village, his movements tired and slow after his long day with the younger apes. No surprise, he halted quickly and waited patiently as she jogged over to him, his eyes glossing over with worry as he studied her disheveled appearance up and down. Since she killed the bear the week before, she's been joining every single hunt the apes went on, and although his heart swelled at the fact that the apes warmed up to her quickly after she begun to contribute to their lives, he couldn't help but worry as her state seemed to worsen every day, scratches littering her nude skin at the gentlest touch. "Do you know where Caesar is?" She interrupted his worry when she finally reached him and hunched over to catch her breath, "I heard he's looking for me."

 _"_ _Going to see Caesar now."_ He responded simply and continued on, signaling for her to follow, which she happily did. After all, if one excludes the young blonde's occasional trips to the waterfall, time with Maurice was honestly the highlights of her days, because, of all the apes, he seemed to enjoy her company most of all – Caesar did, too, but he never seemed to sit still long enough to relax.

It didn't take long before they supposedly reached their destination at the top of the shallow hill, Haley taking a moment to study the foot of the tree before she stopped her eyes on Caesar, himself, and then on the female besides him – and despite the obvious controversy Haley had built towards Cornelia beyond her control, she couldn't help but smile her way, which was happily returned. Haley might love Caesar, but she was just happy he found a wife as kind as the one before her. "You wanted to see me?" Haley questioned finally and shifted her gaze back to Caesar while Maurice sat down on one of the tree roots next to his friend. To her surprise, however, Cornelia was the one who stood and shuffled over to her. Without a word or sound, the beautiful ape seemingly pulled something out of thin air before she placed it in Haley's arms, fur wrapping around her arms with a pleasant heat. Haley stared at Cornelia for a few moments, looking nothing but perplexed, before she forced her brown hues onto the soft surface in her arms, making them widen instantly. It didn't take her even a second to recognize the silky black pelt as the one of the Black Bear she killed the previous week. Dumbfounded, she maneuvered the skin around and held it up in front of her, her awe only inflating when the shape of the object became obvious – the arms, the collar, and the chest. She hesitated before she slipped her arm in, then the next, and hugged the thick-furred coat around her body, sighing with delight as the warmth enveloped her. There were areas that seemed smaller and others that seemed bigger than they needed to be, but taking into account that the thread was made from only god knows what, she was impressed it looked as good as it did.

Haley got ready to ask Caesar who made it, but as soon as her awe-struck gaze fell on him, he gibbered in amusement and nodded back to Cornelia, allowing Haley to gape at her in disbelief and for the ape to turn what Haley could only discern as bashful, shifting slightly on her feet. Chuckling softly at the sight, Haley quickly wrapped her arms around Cornelia, an agonizing weight suddenly lifting off of her shoulders as her clashing feelings about Cornelia faded into liking and arms wrapped back around her in return. "Thank you." Haley breathed, the admiration for her kindness clear enough to make Cornelia gibber happily, even if only to have it interrupted by a fit of disgusted hoots that made Haley break away and whisk around to scowl at the familiar ape.

 _"_ _Like always, human lies,"_ Koba simply signed in response to her look, scowling right back with an animalistic growl, _"and now dresses to look like ape."_ Haley could feel Caesar getting ready to scold Koba for his words, but Haley beat him to it—

"I did not lie!" She snapped, "I'm grateful for this coat more than anything, because now I won't freeze to death!"

 _"_ _But human hates who it came from."_ He snapped back with jerky movements, and Haley's breath hitched immediately, her body running colder than ever before when she realized Caesar and Cornelia must have read his words as well.

"Koba." Maurice warned aloud, being the only one there who knew what was going on, having eavesdropped on Koba and Haley way back when, but Koba didn't seem to care.

"I do not." Haley protested harshly when she recovered from the sudden blow, not having time to process Maurice's voice as the tension between her and Cornelia almost burned her back through the new coat, "Unlike you, I don't judge others over my own faults! One thought does not a villain make!"

"Haley." Caesar warned this time instead, and when he saw Koba bare his teeth and step closer to the girl, he finally rose from his seat atop the tree roots and addressed him, _"What is this about?"_

Not having seen him sign behind her, however, Haley just tisked in annoyance and slipped pass Koba, giving him a well-deserved shove with her shoulder before making her way down the hill in brisk steps. Never before has she been as excited for her trip outside of the village before, and now that she has a coat to warm her up afterwards, she had every intention of finally cleaning herself up underneath the waterfall.

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 **The next chapter will have some graphic content, both in violence and... other things, so if you can't handle those moments, let me know and I might consider writing a separate piece that do not contain those times, or maybe just levels them down a bit.**


	15. A Lie and the Admittance of Defeat

**As warned, there is graphic content ahead! Tread carefully is all I am saying!**

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To Haley, it felt as if she stepped into heaven as she stepped out of the waterfalls. She didn't care that her clean skin left her bruises, scars, and scrapes more clear; she was overjoyed to finally feel her flesh relieved of its sweaty and sticky surface, and although her hair was still damaged and hard, she was glad to see its yellowish white tint for the first time in years. For a moment, all her troubles felt as if they had been washed away, allowing a relaxed sigh to brush pass her chapped, dry lips. She basked in the wondrous feeling until a cold breeze begun to nip at her skin and convinced her to put her coat back on in order to warm her unclothed body, her old clothing tied to the riverbank by a rope while the powerful streams attempted to wash the material clean. She didn't dare to think about her squabble with Koba as she sat down on the rocks next to the waters, looking like nothing more than a ball of fur with a head as she curled up underneath the Black Bear's pelt. Nevertheless, when you think of the devil, he shall appear.  
When something suddenly crunched behind her, Haley nearly jumped out of her skin in shock before she quickly spun around to defend herself, but when she saw it was Koba, she only rolled her eyes and pulled the coat protectively around herself, nearly suffocating under its leathery interior. "Oh, what is it this time?" She muttered his way, completely oblivious to the fact that Koba was initially sent there against his will to apologize, "Come to get all up in my face with your disgusting one, or are you just here to look for a fight in any way possible, just to satisfy your deplorable needs?

Watching his face contort in rage from her vocal lashings made pride swell in her chest, but in one dreaded statement, her inflated pride was punctured, kicked, tossed aside, and walked on. _"Told Caesar."_ He signed and watched as her face paled.  
"Told h-him what?" She questioned with faked disinterest, seeing as she already knew exactly what he was referring to.  
 _"Told Caesar about human's infatuation."_ He snapped without saying a word, his silent smugness disappearing underneath bubbling frustration, _"He said human must leave."_  
"Liar!" She protested without a moment's hesitation and threw herself back to her feet to level with the cruel ape, her coat barely hiding what needs to be hidden on her nude body from his prying eyes. She couldn't believe that Caesar would ever say such a thing, not after how much they've been through together, but because of the fear she's been carrying in her heart since the moment she realized her feelings, Koba's every word stabbed, leaving her to wonder if Caesar did actually know and if he did want her to leave in response, with degust compelling his choice.

 _"Human thought ape would accept!?"_ He questioned with a ear-pitching and apish screech, which didn't really hit as far home as his words seemed to wound, _"Ape and ape, human and human; that is how it should be."_

"Shut up already!" She simply continued to deny his words from reality, shaking her head furiously - she couldn't believe his words: she just couldn't, "Can't you, for once, just walk away!?"

 _"Koba will when human leaves Caesar in peace."_ He finalized, grunting approvingly at his own conclusion, _"Like Caesar wants!"_

"That's it!"

Haley finally had enough, her anger and pain tipping over and overflowing like a volcano an instant, all of his taunting and tormenting mashing together in a single thought, and leaped for the figure in front of her, her muscular frame actually managing to tackle Koba to the ground. "Always saying the exact thing you think would hurt me," She yelled, fighting against his thrashing beneath her and doing everything she could to land a few punches of her own, causing the occasional blow to his rubbery and scarred face, years of swinging from trees paying off in ways she never expected, "Treating me like garbage - no, worse than garbage - like garbage that's been eaten and shat back out - garbage that looks like you!" For one final punch, she rose her fist to her crazed eyes, baring her teeth like the animal below her, but before she even had the chance, the air was knocked from her frail lungs in one impossibly powerful kick that sent her body flying through the air like she weighed nothing. Her startled cry was cut short when her form splashed back into the river, her head colliding with the stone bottom of the river with a silent crack, drawing just a prickle of blood from her skull that quickly dispersed into the clear liquid. She barely had time to struggle against the stream in her daze, however, before five strong fingers latched harshly onto her hair and jerked her back to the water's surface, earning another pained cry from her lips. Through her lightheadedness, she pointlessly scratched Koba's hand to be released as she was dragged to the riverbank, but in no time at all, she was tossed, face-first, back onto the rocks, the ragged and solid corners cutting easily into her delicate skin. She barely registered another apish and frightening scream before she felt Koba's foot press down on the back of her neck, forcing the side of her face to squish against the solid surface with an exhausted whimper. Just one more loud scream from him and she stopped trying to fight back, making him slam her face down one last time before he stepped away, holding himself high in his victory, and after a few unrhythmic breaths, she realized that victory was exactly what he had - victory over everything she still had left.

"Congratulations," She croaked and shakily pushed herself onto her hands and knees, allowing her to cough a few droplets of water from her lungs before she continued, "you won - you just defeated a lowly human." She knew that her admittance of defeat - or rather, her way of admitting defeat - would only antagonize Koba more, but she didn't care, seeing as she wasn't lying. She felt utterly defeated; her entire world felt as if it was no different than the droplets of water that were falling from her hair and shattering against the stones underneath her.

Just as she expected, her words hit the ape hard, and, not even a second later, an enraged growl echoed around her and her body was flung through the air yet again, only a faint yelp escaping her when she fell on her back against the stones farther away, her drenched coat luckily protecting her from further damage. A single groan escaped her once the world settled, but when she moved to get up, Koba's figure suddenly loomed over her, his powerful hands pressing her tired wrists down besides her head. Nevertheless, she didn't feel scared - she laid bare in front of the one ape that wanted her dead, but she knew she had nothing to lose; after all, if she survived, she'd have to leave the village and be on her own again, so what was there for her?

"Go ahead and kill me," she inevitably edged him on, relaxing her entire body against the stones and shutting her eyes in a strange peace, "but tell me, as an ape who'd tell me the truth no matter how cruel it may be," she continued, her small voice breaking as she clenched her fists so tight they shook from the pressure, "in another life, would it have been possible for Caesar, an ape, to have found me appealing, even if just a little?"

Even Koba couldn't help but soften his demanding physique at her words, his entire body seeming to slump at the defeat in her voice, and when she didn't even fight back when he let down his guard, his unintentional pity for her only grew. His scowl fell immediately while he merely stared down at her, but when her words truly sink in, another type of anger formed within him - an anger of defeat. Koba knew, if he killed her now, there would be no satisfaction and no victory, because that's exactly what she wanted - to die and be put out of her misery. Though, when his single seeing eye skimmed over her exhausted, gasping, and nude body, the black fur wrapped around her arms and legs like the skin of an ape, his thoughts drifted to her second question, and slowly, he felt something grow in him that he never wanted.

A single gasp escaped Haley when she felt warm, wet fur press flush against every inch of her body, Koba's heavy and sturdy frame resting on her without any warning and drawing a faint, involuntary whimper from her mouth, but she didn't say another word, nor make another sound, as his dry and harsh lips brushed over her soft skin, his tongue licking any bleeding wound he could find, and merely looked away, shutting her eyes as quickly as she could to try and block him out - she knew exactly what was coming, but she didn't do anything to stop Koba from doing whatever he wanted to her, her body simply laying there limp and worn out. She told herself, _just this once, so she'd be able to know what one night with Caesar would have been like._ She told herself, _once would be enough to hate this and to realize that Caesar is an ape and it wouldn't have been possible to be together_. But as two strong arms held her small body down without mercy or grace, littering her body in even more bruises, scratches, and the occasional bite-mark, she cursed herself with the truth: she knew Caesar would never have held her like that - he would have been gentle and kind, and he would have made sure that she went unscathed.

 _Strange,_ she realized, _how, just when she finally cleaned the surface, she was darkened on the inside to the point of no return - she really was disgusting._

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 **Ugh, this chapter is finally over - awfully written, yes, but over! This chapter was a part of my idea from the very start (yup, I have this entire story summarized in terrible handwriting on a damaged piece of paper), so apologies for those who hate it, but it's important. Ahem, anyways... so there you go! One down and still many to go! So what do you guys say? Do you want to save Haley from Koba taking advantage of her in her weak moment, or do you want to punish Haley for betraying her feeling for Caesar?**


	16. The Messenger of Truth

**Woah, I got a lot more suggestions from you guys than I thought I would, but remember, I already have everything planned out, so we're just going to have to see which of you called it. ;) Brag to the rest of my followers in the reviews if it was you, Hun-Bun!**

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Dead – Haley's empty, emotionless, and dead eyes stared at the river without any focus, her clothing long-since dried and wrapped back around her body, though her coat was still dangling from a tree and dripping dry. With shaky hands, she pulled her crystallized blonde hair away from her neck and picked a single arrow from the stone next to her, raising it to her damaged locks. With a single, swift flick of her wrist, a rip-like sound echoed over the waterfall's thrashing waters, her hand opening to allow the loose strands to fly with the breeze before they eventually discarded themselves into the stream. Not a single moment or action passed without the memory of Koba's touch repeated in Haley's thoughts, her skin already scratched a sickening pink from how she attempted to scrub all evidence of what she had done away.

 _Her own grunts and groans intermingled with Koba's own as he stole her innocence, her back arching underneath his muscular body while he thrusts into her with a power that left her body sore, his apish strength almost too much for her small frame to handle, which didn't seem to stop a pleasure from enveloping her._

Another bundle of locks fell into the river as she squeezed her eyes tightly, hoping the darkness of her eyelids would be enough to blind her from the past.

 _Again she felt her legs wrapping around him and her arms curling around his neck without her permission, her body growing hot and flush beneath the overwhelming satisfaction that she wanted to deny above all else._

Her shoulders silently shook while she forced herself not to cry, scared that she might collapse if she lost any more strength. Again, she cut another grasp of hair to the middle of her neck, freeing herself of the ugly ends of her locks in some pointless attempt to clean herself on the inside.

 _The confusion she felt as he held her in his arms like he was a human as well, destroying the hope she held to become disgusted by the idea of being with Caesar. The confusion she felt as nothing about him felt animalistic – not his touches, albeit a bit rough, not his technique, not their positions, and not his caresses, though pointless after how he hurt her every other second._ Call her crazy, but her fear pictured something completely different in her head – _wildly different_ being the best way to describe her thoughts. _Not even the sight of him skulking away afterwards prickled her wrong, an invisible but seeable and confusing weight hanging on his broad shoulders._

That was the one thing she hated the most about what Koba had done to her; he made her so much more confused. _Was it because of how the apes advanced that he held her like he did?_

Growling at herself for even daring to think such a thing, she shook her head violently and rose the arrow in a fit of anger, ready to toss it away while only half of her hair cut. Just in time, however, a deep and familiar coo interrupted her, the sound allowing her to relax instantly. With a gentle touch that she didn't even realize she craved, she felt a hand wrap around her own before the arrow was delicately pulled from her fingers, her arm collapsing at her side as soon as it was released and her head lowering in some failed attempt to hide her shame. She didn't say, nor did she need to say a word while Maurice sat down behind her and continued the work on her hair. Only after what felt like an hour passed, when he was forced to shuffle around her to cut her bangs, did he break the silence in his own, apish way – if only he chose his words better.

 _"Was worried when human was gone too long, so… should I ask why human smells like Koba?"_ He signed carefully before continuing with her hair, as if trying to express how she didn't have to answer if she didn't want to – he was just worried. Naturally, she took his silent option of not saying a word and openly changed the subject.

"What are you doing here?" She asked hoarsely, her words barely loud enough for him to hear, even with his senses being more advanced than a human's, "Every ape in the village probably knows by now and I don't think they'd be too happy with you coming here."

 _"Apes know what?"_ He simply questioned in return and cut the last piece of her hair before he slumped down entirely in front of her, the stones not seeming to bother him at all as he tilted his head her way curiously. Yet again, confusion set in on Haley, compelling her to frown at the orangutan, but with it, a sense of dread begun to creep in on her. "My feelings before Caesar." She spoke slowly and hesitantly, almost as if afraid to hear his response, "Koba said…"

 _"Only Koba and I know."_ He denied with a small shake of his large head and a worried grumph.

"B-But Koba… he came here to tell me that Caesar explicitly told me to leave because he found out…" She breathed, the dread growing larged and pushing the truth to the surface. _No_ , she screamed inwardly, _don't tell me—_

 _"Koba was sent to apologize after he said he misunderstood what human said to him,"_ Maurice continued to explain, _"Koba lied and said Koba didn't m—"_

An enraged cry cut him off before he had the chance to finish, Haley snapping right there in front of him, and before he even had the opportunity to stop her from leaving, she already sped back into the forest. In a blur, she swiped her bow and arrows from the ground and her coat from the trees, tossing the dark pelt back onto her shoulders before she disappeared into the trees, the hope of catching her disappearing as her swinging form disappeared into the distance. With fury and adrenaline pumping through Haley's body like magma, the incessant stinging between her legs was dismissed to unimportance, her aching body no longer even registering in her crazed thought:

 _Koba's dead!_

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 **By the way, did you guys know how interesting Orangutans are!? I make sure to do research for the story (I totally blame you guys for me needed to look up how Chimpanzees mate – yeah, I ain't putting that shit in my fanfic) and I found that Maurice is a lot more fascinating than I even imagined. Oh, and did you guys see that we're already more than 75 reviews if I combine all the places I upload!? That's insanely awesome! (o.o) LOVE YOU GUYS! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT!**


	17. Most Human Of All

**I know I told you guys I might be uploading slower with college and now I am uploading twice a day, but… Seriously, who minds, am I right? XD**

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Everyone in the village was confused by Koba's solemn behavior when he returned to the village while Caesar just assumed it was because his pride was hurt from apologizing to a human of all things, but as time passed and as he didn't even shift from where he sat by the fire, the other apes begun to glance at each other with worry; he always was a stoic chimpanzee compared to the rest, but as his scarred face showed an obvious and deep inner conflict, most knew something else was going on. Soon, worry turned to a fear for his health when he didn't even twitch at the sound of an uproar building at the edge of the village, the sound slowly drawing nearer and nearer. Deep in thought, he couldn't see Haley speed through the entrance of the fortress, alarming a few apes, and didn't see every single head follow her rushed steps; only when a startling roar sounded behind him did he finally jump back to reality, even if only to get tackled into the mud from behind by the human female the very second later. Haley locked her arm tightly around his neck as he stood and moved to pull her off of his back, the sound of the dozens of apes' screaming blurring around the both of them as they struggled.

Taking every advantage she could get, Haley frantically pounded her free fist down on his head and shoulder while he aimlessly grasped at her and spun from left to right to try and shake her off. Inevitably, he finally managed to latch onto her fur-coated shoulder when her head dodged out of the way and, just before she could land another blow, he tossed her over him, slamming her onto the ground and forcing a faint yelp from her lungs. Leering down at her, he growled and moved to attack her in return, but before he had the chance, she bared her human teeth and kicked at his chest like he had done to her a few hours prior, forcing him to fly back – albeit, not as far as she did back then, but still far enough.

"Not this time!" She bellowed as she, once again, jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his middle and using her shoulder to tackle him back into a puddle of mud. She could feel him hammering against her back mid-fall, but when they splashed into the water, the filthy liquid soaking his raven fur to a nauseating brown, she pulled away and straddled him before she begun to slam her fists down towards his face in a furious frenzy. The screams, screeches, and hoots turned louder as the apes circled the two of them like spectators to a boxing match and could only see Koba defending himself and making no move to fight back – some of them occasionally stepped forward to interrupt, but only to step back a few seconds later, not daring to get in the middle of what was going on.

By this time, Caesar has already been forced to peer down to the village from the tree thanks to the era-pitching cries and was made to pale at the sight of his old friend pummeling one of the apes on his council before he ran as fast as he could down the steps on all-fours, but it wasn't him who finally was able to break the fight – it was Maurice.

Haley was still punching and slamming Koba deeper into the mud with an animalistic craze when Maurice's long, strong, and orange-furred arm suddenly wrapped around her stomach and puller her away, hugging her tightly against his chest and leaving her to kick and scratch at the air "Let go of me!" She demanded when she realized she wasn't getting anywhere, reaching down and pushing against his limb while she pointlessly attempted to free her skinny frame from his powerful grip, "Damn it, let go! LET GO! You know what he did!"

In between her deranged pleas and fiery gaze, she could barely make out the sight of Caesar helping Koba to his feet, who, incidentally, didn't make a single move to attack her anymore and simply stood there, catching his breath, as he gazed at her with an angry scowl, as he always did before – though, it felt strangely forced to the ape this time.

 _"What's the meaning to this!?"_ Caesar signed angrily, but his words seemed to go unheard.

"Maurice told me the truth, you bastard!" Haley finally yelled, eyes blurring with tears that craved to be shed, "He told me everything!"

Despite himself, Koba's scowl faltered, his eyes flickering to Maurice's knowing look before he set them back on the seemingly unhinged girl. "Haley, calm down." Caesar spoke carefully in his deep voice, forcing himself to intervene despite his curiosity about what was going on, but as he limped closer to her, his compulsion faltered, his flat nose twitching slightly at the scent that prickled his senses, eventually compelling him to sign one question while his voice suddenly got stuck in his dry throat, _"Why do you smell like Koba?"_

Immediately, Haley's entire body fell slack in Maurice's still-binding grip, allowing him to loosen it slightly to allow her to breathe more easily. Only then did Haley remember what Maurice asked her when he showed up at the river, and by the sight of Koba's face turning startled with some type of realization, a haunting suspicion bubbled in Haley about what it meant to smell like him, compelling her to lower her head away from Caesar, not able to look him in the eyes. With a combination of pain, fury, and sorrow, she bared her teeth to bite back her insisting tears, her eyes burning in their sockets. "'Human lies.'" She breathed shakily in a single whisper, "That's the first thing I ever heard you say."

Koba felt as if every single ape was sending him an accusing look, but as he trailed his scowl over every single one of them, he realized that not one was looking his way – it was his own guilt weight down on him from knowing exactly where Haley was going. "You said that," She repeated lowly before she finally snapped her head back up and screamed, "Out of everyone here, you are the most human of us all!"

With that, she finally ripped Maurice's arm away from her and fled from all prying eyes and back to her hut. Caesar looked to Maurice for answers, his face contorted with a worried frown, but the Orangutan just shook his head – he knew, now that Haley knew exactly what she had allowed to happen, that she wanted Caesar to know about her feelings even less than she did before. After all, the one thing she wanted most of all was for Caesar to never look at her differently.

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 **Quick question: might any of you know where I can buy the Planet of the Apes books for very cheap? I've been wanting to read them for a while now, but I don't have the money for the new ones, being a struggling college student and all. Or maybe you guys know someone who wants to get rid of theirs and would allow me to buy them for cheap instead?**


	18. My First Love right?

**WHOA, what a terrible fudging chapter~! Well, whatever... enjoy, I guess?**

Right back in the hell and sorrow she was in before, Haley sat, curled into a ball, and shivered in her hut, her coat still wrapped around her body but wet, filthy and colder than ice. Sniffling softly, she rubbed her puffy eyes for what felt to be the millionth time that minute, her cheeks already burning under the hot and salty drops. The sun barely shined in the late hour and above the cloudy skies, but still she was able to stare at her faint shadow as the light pierced through the entrance of her hut and cascaded over her back, and thus, she was able to see the hunched silhouette gliding into her doorway, a silhouette that she quickly recognized and acknowledged with the fearful stiffen of her entire frame.

"Go. Away." She warned weakly, hugging her knees more tightly to her aching chest and body, "I'm honestly too tired to deal with you right now." She heard him grunt disapprovingly, but she only grunted mockingly in return before she continued, "I don't want to look at you right now, so just leave!" Unlike what she expected, however, a strange quiet befell Koba. She knew he was still there, she could still see his shadow, but he didn't move, budge, or make a sound.

Only eventually did he gibber with a foreign, gentle tone before she heard him slip inside and plant himself down behind her, his gaze glued to the world outside. Strangely enough, the action made Haley's body relax, her shoulders slacking pleasantly at her sides, and drew them both into an addictive silence – maybe it was because she knew it was his proud way of apologizing for what he did, but she couldn't be sure. It felt like hours passed while she was only able to listen to the occasional grumbles from Koba, a notable silence picking right back up afterwards every time and allowing Haley to assume they were involuntarily directed to the apes outside. What Koba didn't know, Haley noted, was the fact that it was something other than what he did to her that hang heavy on and was eating away at her conscience the longer she remained hushed, forcing her tears to multiply with every passing minute – and what else could be ailing her than guilt? It grew to the point where she felt as if she couldn't move, only her face able to get buried stiffly into her knees as she tried to calm herself down. Eventually, those painful two words slipped pass her lips, "I'm sorry."

Before, when she sat there alone, she realized how she was in the wrong as well – Koba did her a wrong, she knew, but she played a large part as well. Instantly, she felt Koba's shocked face drilling into her back as he stared at her in disbelief – turns out, even his scarred and horrifying face could look startled, not startling. "I'm sorry." She repeated more breathy, hesitantly peeking over her shoulder to show Koba the sincerity in her swollen eyes, "For attacking you, I mean." Still, he only stared, making her sigh in defeat as she looked back in front of her. "You weren't the only one at fault." She explained grudgingly, "I didn't fight you when you touched me at the river," her fists clenched as she paused, "Trust me, if I had fought you, none of this would've happened – I think we both know that much. Not to mention, if I acted up and allowed you to realize what you were doing, you would have left, wouldn't you have?"

Only a faint and muffled grunt confirmed her suspicions, but it, oddly enough, didn't feel like the whole truth to Koba. He had the suspicion that they would have still ended up like that in the end, because the pleasure he felt was not just physical, it was… _emotional?_ That was why she confused him so much.

"Thought so –" She exhaled with a small tremble, the truth shaking her to her core and making her nauseous; if she were honest, she didn't want to realize she had let him have his way, but she knew it was something she had to accept at some point and realization was the key.

Yet again, they fell into a noiseless discussion, this time eerie and uncomfortable.

Neither of them wanted to sign or say a word, so they swallowed everything that threatened to fall from their lips. Only when the pressure became too much did she finally hear Koba push himself back to his feet and prepare to leave, and although it felt to her as if thag was the perfect note on which to put an end to their broken conversation, a question suddenly blurted pass her control.

"Caesar and Maurice said I smelled like you," It slipped and compelled Koba to halt before she broke from her cocoon of limbs and turned her body relatively his way, still resting on her side as she kept her gaze locked with the nest beneath her, "what does that mean for me?" Again, Koba seemed to be at a loss for words and merely diverted his guilt-struck face from her sight, but this time, she wouldn't allow him to – she couldn't; she needed to hear him say it. "Tell me!" She ordered angrily, "I need to know if I am right!"

He knew she was entitled to the truth, but still he tortured her with a pause before he mumbled a gruff, "Koba's mate – wife."

Like she said, she already knew what it meant, but still she felt her mouth dry when those simple words were said aloud, her fingers digging painfully into her nest, her nails threatening to rip from her fingertips as they dug through the leaves and into the stones beneath the mud. Nevertheless, she shut her eyes and took a slow, deep breath, forcing her body to relax yet again. "So… that is what I will be." She shoved from her mouth as if it was poison, and again, Koba looked nothing but startled as she peeked at him through her bangs. "I just…" She continued solemnly, her face falling into grief and pity, "…I wish you hadn't lied to me."

Hesitantly, the ape inched forward a few times before he finally lowered himself in front of her, keeping a careful distance between them as he moved to his knees. "Please," She spoke again, her face darkening to a demanding glare, "Don't ever lie to me again," she stopped, waiting for a response, but when nothing came, her volume rose, "Promise me!"

Seeming conflicted about it, he nodded uneasily, but the action was enough for Haley to sigh immediately, even if only to tense and flinch back when she saw him reach for her, causing him to cease, an action which quickly came to Haley's attention and made her nibble on the inside of her lip while she stared at his leathery hand and mulled over her choices. Steadily, she turned herself completely towards Koba in her nest and only glanced between him and his limb before she nudged herself forward and unsurely placed her cheek into his rough palm, shutting her eyes and inwittingly acting like a violent dog that js being befriended by a stranger. In that single hand, she could feel Koba relax a bit more before his hand unexpectedly slipped to the back of her neck and his forehead pressed against hers, her own hand inevitably sliding pass his sliced ear and hooking behind his neck as well. "One more thing," She whispered, him not jerking away or even opening his eyes at the sound, "best no to tell anyone how this happened – I am sure we can make an excuse up for what happened earlier as well. I'll ask Maurice the same."

Obviously, Koba nodded in agreement again, knowing that Caesar would most likely have his head if he knew what he did to his childhood friend – and he knew Haley's own reasons, that she didn't want the ape she loved to know about what she had done, but his subconscious quickly locked that away.

Discretely, Haley's eyes pulled open and studied the ape in front of her with a despairing gaze, Koba's eyes staying shut while he remained oblivious to her stare. _"There,"_ she told herself, almost feeling her heart tear as she reasoned with her mind, _"grow to love this ape – you do love this ape – you will now love this ape. Right here, like this, is where you'll stay, and where you'll be happy – you'll grow to be happy."_

 **BAM! Part 1 done! I say "part 1," but I just mean everything before the second movie. Yup, they'll be together 'till Dawn starts in the next chapter! Anyways, thank you all so much for sticking with me to this point, don't forget to leave more of your lovely comments before I get to the next chapter (y'know, to motivate me), and apologies for any stupid mistakes again – I'm exhausted. By the way… I UPLOADED 3 CHAPTERS TODAY! Can you believe that!? I was on a roll! Can't wait for tomorrow – I hope I'm this free again!**


	19. The Dawn of Technicalities

For two years, the nonexistent barrier around Muir Woods went unbroken by even a single human soul, everyone afraid of the virus-infected animals within, but as time drew on, the world crumbled around the large patch of trees and forced that reality to change.

Those few people who discovered, or rather _assumed_ , that they were immune to the Simian flu banded together to empower their shattered lives, but the more they seemed to rebuild, the more the city around them seemed to break down, their hopes slowly getting sucked dry as their electricity simultaneously begun to dwindle rapidly. And thus, six of the survivors ventured back into the woods without any other choice but to rediscover the old dam, one moving his own pace and path while two others dragged their feet behind two scientists and a young man, guns hanging heavily on each man's shoulder as a precaution. Because those two, in particular, were there to protect the others, they kept their protests about being dragged up the mountain silent, but while the brunette doctor, her husband, and her artistic step-son wound through the trees swiftly and without a rest, they struggled to keep their pace and to keep control over their words. Nevertheless, this quickly became irrelevant when a startling pop echoed around them, chilling each one of them to the bone.

"Stay — Help! Help — No! Hay!" They heard the calls of the sixth member of their group, and immediately rushed down the path, quickly arriving at the sight of him, their friend, aiming an old pistol at two chimpanzees. They took no time to notice the fact that one ape was writhing on the floor in pain while the other stood unsurely in front of him, trying to protect him with his own body – they simply rushed to aid the frightened human in their wake instead. Regardless, when they finally arrived and pulled their firearms from their shoulders or holster, their actions were forcibly halted.

Abruptly, the sound of something zipping through the air coaxed them to freeze where they stood, a razor-sharp projectile suddenly boring into the ground by their feet and anchoring into the mossy surface between them and the two apes.

In unison, their heads and guns snapped up in alarm, their eyes immediately searching through the trees for where the arrow had come from. It felt like forever before the Malcolm, the doctor's husband, spotted the figure, his face falling into dismay while the others still looked for it, only eventually finding their way. Above their heads and perched high up in the trees, there sat a figure of leather and thick black fur, its hairless hands aiming a bow and arrow down at them skillfully. They could barely glimpse at the camouflaged woman's stare behind the weapon and beneath the grey, green, and white mud that was painted across her face, only big brown eyes giving it away. With a small grunt, she motioned with a jerk of her head for the group to turn around, and they instinctively did as told, but only to flinch back when the sight of dozens of apes swinging towards them was brought to light. Surrounding them like some haunting stadium, apes of every shape and size sped their way, spears that put their weapons to shame pointed and ready to be thrown through their chests without any trouble. All six of them jumped in shock when they heard something jump down behind them, everyone spinning back around, and took cautious steps away from the ape as soon as the tip of his spear came into focus, all of them oblivious to the fact that he was simply protecting the ape that had been shot – his son.

Out of sight and out of notice, the young woman in the trees lowered her bow and arrow at what had unfolded, her emotionless eyes inevitably glossing over with worry before she clambered down the tree, the sound of apes hooting muffled around her. As soon as she could, Haley then maneuvered her way over to Ash, who still lay injured on the forest floor, and made sure to keep herself low to the ground so she'd go unnoticed. Yet, as soon as she was able to help him so he could sit up, even if barely, her body was stiffened by a holler.

"We don't mean any harm!"

Too startled to even notice Rocket helping her with his son, she stared at the human man in disbelief – _how long has it been since she heard another human speak_ , she wondered and never saw one ape seeing her stare and scowling almost suspiciously at the sight – Koba. Eventually, when silence drew on between the two parties, words slipped from her lips. "Don't mean any harm?" She growled and watched as the group of humans turned briskly back to her, "You've already harmed!"

Unlike what she expected, however, one of them seemed to soften at her words – the only women, it appeared – and soon after, the man next to her did the same. While his eyes remained locked with Haley's, hers darkening by that fact, Malcolm reached to his side and carefully lowered another weapon along with his own, not even bothered by the fact that Carver protested for a while at first. "And I'm sorry," He spoke sincerely and circled back to the ape who stared down at them with an odd sense of authority, peering up at him with a strange sense of certainty – they'll be alright _,_ he knew, despite the scowl that was tossed down at him. "Lower your guns." Haley heard him say, her face inadvertently growing shocked and amazed, not having expected that at all. She saw the other humans protesting yet again, but he insisted quickly. For a moment, Haley thought everything was going to be alright, but then she realized the woman was still staring at her, compelling her to send her an uncomfortable glance in return.

A sense of trouble hang heavy within Haley's subconscious before it even happened, but as soon as she saw the lady step towards her, her eyes widened – suddenly, another ape jumped to the forest floor and blocked her view of the human female, forcing her to peek around him carefully. She easily saw the fear gloss over the lady's eyes before she backed away, whoever she was.

The moment the doctor, Ellie's, sight of the wild girl was broken by a leathered, apish scowl, her instinct to protect was stolen and her worry grew exponentially, compelling her to back away, which didn't seem to help when the ape rose his spear higher with a growing fury. "Koba," Haley intervened in a whisper and maneuvered Ash into Rocket's arms before she stood and rested a single and consoling hand on his large shoulder, calming him quickly, though not completely – if anyone managed to relax Koba entirely, they'd have Haley's immediate respect. Still, that was more than enough for her and allowed her to glare at the woman again, silently warning her to stay away. Caesar, who had been watching closely, finally decided he had seen enough and drew a deep breath.

"Go!"

His sudden exclamation tore viciously through the silence, and yet, only the six strangers jumped at the sound, one, the only shooter Haley has noted thus far, even cursing in surprise. And still Haley seemed to be the only one who sent Caesar a horrified look – as a human, she knew all too well that him speaking in front of them would cause trouble – but it didn't matter; she could only watch as he leaped from the boulder below him, making the group's terror grow larger. "Okay, we're going—" The leader of the humans, Haley assumed, tried to assure the animals around him, but alas, Koba's frustration finally bubbled over.

"Go!" He screamed in tow with his brother, and led the entire village into an uproar, everyone screaming wordlessly for the trespassers to leave, watching with satisfaction as they ran off in a panic. Through the screeching and hooting, however, Haley watched Maurice collect the bag of one of the humans, who had dropped it in his quick escape, and carefully slipped pass her mate to him, placing her hand shakily on his shoulder to announce her presence, his height surprisingly little compared to hers thanks to his slouch, and caused both him and Caesar to look her way – for a moment, the apes might have scorned her for lying to them about there being other humans, but at the sight of her horrified, afraid, startled, shocked, and disbelieving gaze, everyone knew she had no idea.

The only thing Haley knew was that, now that humans resurfaced, all hell was going to break loose – call it an apish sixth sense if you will. Having the same thought as her, Caesar's dread grew drastically. "Koba!" He called over his shoulder, his second-hand immediately moving to his side at the mention of his name, and motioned down the path, "Follow!"

"What!?" Haley could only gasp as her husband and a few other apes rushed off, stopped from following them by a single knowing look from Maurice. "Fine," She grumbled and yelled after them, "Just be careful!"

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 **I just realized that Maurice actually spoke in Dawn about never having seen a human for the past two winters. Like, I mean... am I good or am I good? XD**

 **Oh, and you know those moments when you feel your writing is getting worse? Yeah… ugh.**

 **Anyway! Remember to comment, follow, and/or like! ^^ It always makes me feel so darn happy and appreciated when you guys leave me feedback, even if it's constructive feedback about what I should fix. ;)**


	20. Two Years

Most say that people don't ever change, that others only pretend or fool themselves into thinking it's possible, but what about apes or those who live with them? Haley always seemed to wonder this.

It's been two years since she was dragged to the Ape Village by Rocket's arms and, since then, most everyone has changed in their own way, a friendship even growing between her and her kidnapper, but this ripple of change only began the day that Haley and Koba's relationship was announced to the other apes. Immediately, they broke into a vocal outrage, appalled by something so "unnatural," but over time, their open protests and disapproval over the matter becoming scarce – whether it was because of their respect for Koba, their understanding that it had nothing to do with them, or thanks to the acceptance Caesar showed, no one knew, just like he didn't know the pain his acceptance caused for his old friend. Naturally, Haley didn't expect some sudden fit of jealousy from him, but the truth of their platonic friendship ailed her mercilessly as it stared her in the face. Still, disbelief shrouded her turmoil from her own notice as her marriage with Caesar's second in command granted her reverence in the eyes of the colony, despite her being human.

Behind leafy curtains, however, Haley and Koba took much longer to adjust to what they agreed upon, something Maurice privately and pointlessly advised her against, but after a year of neither of them ever lying to each other again, Haley subconsciously denied her feelings for their king and convinced herself that she loved Koba, him unwittingly playing along to the point where they really begun to care for each other, just in time for the announcement of Caesar expecting another child and for her then being able to congratulate him sincerely.

Sometimes, it's easier to lie to yourself after lying to others for so long.

Sighing with exasperation while she sat next to Maurice, the ape she almost always seemed to be around, she watched him as he paged through the human boy's sketchbook and felt worry nearly eating away at her mind, her animal-skin clothing feeling oddly tight thanks to her overwhelming fret for Koba's safety – Cornelia had been kind enough to help Haley create new clothing, so much better than the rags she wore before, but Haley had a faint and amused suspicion that it was the female ape's sly way of learning more about her husband from when he was young, this suspicion only growing after the two of them laughed at a few of her stories. _"Koba is warrior, Haley,"_ She watched Maurice sign, never moving his gaze off of the book, _"will be fine."_ In the end, Koba was the only ape who still referred to Haley as 'human' instead of using her name, and, strangely enough, it grew to a term of endearment – a nickname he used and would never admit to using on purpose.

Haley only sighed at the orangutan's attempt to console her, never giving it a rest, and waved him off. It felt like forever before the party of apes that were tasked to follow the humans returned home, Haley's heart leaping with relief immediately. Maurice gave her a knowing look before she even had the chance to rise from the ground, justifying a playful glare from her before she stood and rushed to Koba at the entrance, resting her forehead against his quickly to welcome him back. "Worry too much." She heard him grumbling under his breath, but she merely shook her head and remained perfectly attached to him.

"You of all apes know what humans are capable of." She explained gravely, looking him close in his eye, "I have every right to be worried when anyone goes to the city after discovering that there are more humans out there."

 _"Human seemed pleased with humans arriving,"_ He interrupted with a growing scowl, compelling Haley to lean back and send him a dumbfounded stare. For the longest time, she remained frozen by her shock before her gaze finally hardened, "What the heck gave you that—?"

Unfortunately, Caesar interrupted before anything could be resolved, never realizing he cut in. "Found others?" He asked behind Haley, compelling her to break contact with her mate and step out of the way so he could nod in confirmation, forcing Caesar's face to contort with disappointment, "Gather Ape Council."

Again Koba nodded and watched Caesar limp off before he gave Haley an almost apologetic look, making her raise her arms in defeat with an understanding smile. "I understand," She hummed halfheartedly and backed away, never daring to let anyone see her disappointment for being excluded from any important positions in the village, which she understood in a way, "I'll go check on Ash and keep Blue Eyes company while you renegades take care of your business," she joked and turned to leave, slipping away to the opposite end of the village from the great tree, only to discover Ash perfectly fine as he shooed his worried father and other apes away in embarrassment. "I got it from here, Rocket; the council is gathering anyway." She interjected and saw Rocket thanking her before he hesitantly slipped away – obviously, as Caesar's left, Rocket was also a member of the High Council, unlike the human girl and the two apes in front of her, them still being too young. "So," she chirped and motioned the two over, "shall we wait for the old apes to finish while we celebrate still being young and gorgeous?" Releasing a few amused hoots, her two friends followed her to their usual spot next to the foot of the tree, just a few steps away from where the council usually gathered above the school.

In the beginning, when Cornelia instinctively referred to Haley as her sister, Blue Eyes attempted to call Haley his aunt, but she immediately put a stop to that. After all, compared to apes, she was still young, growing slower than most there, so it felt weird – at least, that was the reason… _right?_

* * *

 **I may not update tomorrow, because I have class and work all day, but Saturday should be alright. Like always, please remember to like if you like what you're reading, follow if you want to follow my updates, and comment something toothache-worthy if you want me to continue writing. Kidding, kidding.**

 **…or am I? XD**


	21. So Much Alike

The wait was torture, and even more so for Haley than for the two apes next to her, Ash and Blue Eyes, because she could still feel the nagging ache in her stomach that something horrible was going to happen – she just knew it. She could barely glimpse at the sketchbook in front of Maurice from behind Caesar, barely able to see pass his shoulders, but the fascination the orangutan showed for peaceful art gave her hope – hope that no one will make any rash decisions over _one_ terrible human. Inevitably, however, Blue Eyes felt Haley's gloomy aura looming over his side and saw the thoughtful contortion of her face, almost worried that her face will get stuck that way, and felt the compulsion to distract her from her turmoil.

 _"Think we'll be sent to city?"_ He questioned in the corner of her eye, and for a moment he thought his signing went unnoticed, but eventually she shook her head to shake herself back to reality and ripped her gaze from the council to look at him.

"I don't think so." She hummed, an unsure concern flickering in the depth of her earth-colored eyes, "I don't think any of them will allow that to happen."

 _"Humans nearly killed Ash!"_ He pointed out quickly and with an enraged but anxious huff, ignoring his friend's attempt to point out that he's fine, _"Humans dangerous!"_

 _"Exactly!"_ Haley signed briskly, her brows furrowing with worry, the memory of how humans killed each other off right outside her bedroom window replaying in her mind. "This is our home." She breathed in fearful apprehension, oblivious, just like most everyone else, to the fact that Caesar was signing her words almost to the letter, "Go to war now and we'll destroy everything that the colony has been able to build." She watched with relief as her words openly upset her friend, relieved that he clearly realized what she said was true, even if he didn't want it to be. Yet, she didn't seem to pick up on the knowing look of Maurice as he continued to stare at her, his heart reaching out for the human girl as he watched her words contradict Koba's own but flow with Caesar's in agreement. "Trust me—" She continued and gave Ash a wise look before she circled herself back to the coterie of apes who sat in a perfect circle atop the stone patch, her eyes narrowing once more as she tried to tell their decisions telepathically, "—I know better than most about what becomes to a world that has been consumed by war. I only hope that your fathers remember as well." She might age slower than apes, but what she didn't realize was the fact that her experience counted for a lot.

As if on cue to the end of her conversation with the two, Caesar finally broke the chain around him and stood, his eyes aimlessly wandering around the apes around the village as if he was attempting to take the sight in one last time, a fact that made Haley's stomach lurch in a panic.

 _"I will decide tonight what we'll do."_ He signed as a dismissal of the council and begun to make his way up the great tree, unaware of the horrified brown eyes that followed his every step.

"Please, don't—" Haley breathed in disbelief and glanced Ash and Blue Eyes' way when her plea grabbed their attention, but it only lasted for a second before she escaped their company to go talk to Caesar. She may not be a member of the Ape Council, but if he was actually considering going to war—

 _She had to talk him out of it!_

* * *

 **Just a quick chapter to hold you guys out for today! ;) Yet again, please do not forget to like if you like what you're reading, or follow, or maybe even leave those wonderful reviews and comments that I love so much!**


	22. Contradicting Personalities

_"Apes need to show strength."_

Koba's words hang heavy in Caesar's chest – though he knew that they were true, he also knew, at his core, that violence would destroy his family. So, as he gazed down at his sleeping wife, his baby carefully laid on her chest and slowly oscillating in odd angles with her steady breaths, the king of apes wondered if he will ever be able to watch them so closely again – just basking in the peace of their rest while he sat, alert, with a need to protect them ailing his own slumber, something he never minded. Only the sudden rustling and an unape-like knock at the frame of his doorway was enough to break the silence, the sound unique enough that he knew exactly who it was and quickly motioned for Haley to be quiet, startling her to a stop, her shoulders not even moving to breathe, less that makes too much sound.

The moment the young woman heard the ape shush her when she entered his home, the sight of him crouched by his sleeping wife boring into her unsuspecting eyes, Haley's words went lost to her, only a warmth rushing through her body, forcing her to smile, and a twinge of concern for his wife nagging at her conscience. Since Haley became closer to the queen of apes, seeing her old friend with her in adoring moments like those made her heart swell, so she was more than happy to eat her words before she sat down a few feet away from the nest, where Caesar has so kindly sat down next to her.

 _"How is she feeling?"_ Haley signed to preserve the silence, her eyes openly stuck on the ball of fluff on the female's chest while she painfully resisted reaching over and cuddling it. Her hands signed sloppily, given how rarely she spoke the ape's tongue (metaphorically, of course), but still she knew she was saying each word correctly, just like Caesar's adoptive father once taught her.

 _"Tired,"_ He signed, but the uncertainty in his movements and the worried frown that knitted his brows together told Haley another story, _"she just needs rest."_

"I see," She hummed under her breath, but seemed even more unsure than Caesar, himself. But of course, the reason for her visit quickly came back to her attention and drew the matter to a close – though she cared about Cornelia, she could only hope she'd be alright and that her midwives were taking care of her, because there were other pressing matters. _"You're not actually considering going to war, are you?"_ Haley signed finally, but unlike what she expected, her words granted her an odd look from him; she couldn't see the wander that hit Caesar, a wander about how a wife and husband could both advise him, but each with such a contradicting opinion.

 _"I have to consider all the advice I get from the council."_ He pointed out almost routinely while he still stared at her in surprise, something entirely different on his mind.

"And I'm not on the council – I get that." She huffed quietly and broke her eyes away from his to watch the others in the room again, as if hoping he wouldn't be able to see the brief dissatisfaction in her large brown orbs, even if she knew it was clear in her tone already, "But as your friend, please, I beg you to consider my advice as well; I know you have to listen to the council, but I know you wouldn't allow a war to happen, having learned more from humans than any other ape here, so, when you eventually make a decision, take most of your counseling from your own heart – I know that is where you'll discover what is best." No surprise, a pleasant silence broke over the room as Caesar mulled over her words, only eventually broken by a tiny, squeaking yawn, a sound that sliced through the tension with such ease that it almost startled Haley before she watched two small and bright green eyes pull open in front of her.

"Could I?" Haley asked Caesar almost instinctively and gave no explanation to what she was referring to, already knowing he knew exactly what she was referring to, and when he motioned for her to go ahead, she knew she was right. Carefully, she crawled over to the sleeping apes and reached for the tiny ball of fluff she had studied so fondly before, smiling at the sight of him reaching for her hands before she stole him from Cornelia's chest with great caution, not wanting to wake and alarm her. And so, coddling the baby ape close to her leather-clad chest, Haley maneuvered herself back to Caesar's side, sending him a grateful smile before she happily rocked his baby back and forth in her arms, only praying she did it right as she watched him aimlessly and curiously reaching for her strange-colored face, seeing a human for the very first time in his life – Haley couldn't believe it was her first time seeing Caesar's new son. Unlike her, however, her careful behavior prickled an entirely different thought with Caesar, and along with the shock he felt from the contradiction her advice held to Koba's, he finally chose to voice- _or rather,_ sign his confusion and concern, _"Why with Koba?"_

"Hm?" Haley merely hummed, remaining oblivious to the unpredictability of his question and the alarm it should've caused in her while she made odd faces down at the baby in her arms, "What do you mean?"

 _"When Haley announced of her binding with Koba two years ago, directly after trying to attack him, I chose not to say anything, but it was against my instincts,"_ He signed, the same unease he felt back then bubbling back up his throat, _"I worry, Haley."_ Back then, when Koba and Haley came out to explain why she smelled like him, announcing that she was his mate, Caesar also felt the horror and sudden blow of the announcement, but when he saw the outrage building in the apes around him, he chose to silence himself, even if only for Haley's sake. Nevertheless, an uncertain restlessness grew in him with each passing month, small things about the two of them nagging at him in every wrong way – the disagreements they have over things that are the basic building-blocks to their personalities being the most prone moments to stab at him.

"So you were surprised." Haley sighed, slouching back against the wall behind her before sending Caesar a conflicted look – at that moment, she unintentionally recalled that pain his accepting behavior caused inside of her so long ago, but for some reason it was hard to recall her reasons, "but you don't need to worry – everything fine. If you worry because I'm a human, don't, because he also pays attention to his difference in strength around me."

 _"I didn't say it wasn't fine,"_ He specified, his frown only growing, _"why were you attacking him?"_

Haley paused, shifting her eyes away from her friend and to the roof above her as she tried to select her words expertly, but it didn't last long – her thoughts were halted by her own decision to tell the truth… kind of. "We became mates because he lied to me; he told me you hated me and wanted me to leave," She told him honestly, setting her gaze back on the innocent form in her arms, her half-truth feeling oddly liberating, "you have to remember, you're the only family I have left, and you wanting me to leave disorientated me immediately. Maybe it was my way of trying to get a reason that I'll have to stay here, but one thing led to another and Koba and I mated," she explained carefully, careful not to mention how Koba took advantage of her in her moment of _disorientation_. "He lied because I was provoking him on purpose, mind you." She interrupted swiftly, somehow sensing the flicker of anger in the ape next to her, "And after I got my frustration out by attacking him and after he apologized and we spoke, we decided to be together. I know it might not seem like it all the time and I know our reasons may be unconventional, but I do care about Koba, Caesar," She added, sending Caesar a wary glance, relieved to see, not a look of anger or disgust, but a look of unwilling understanding being sent her way, "He will never lie to me again – that I know – and I will never lie to him either." Neither of them seemed to notice the aftereffects of their conversation when it came to her two years of conviction on her feelings.

Waving goodnight from the foot of the tree, Haley watched Caesar slip back into his home with his son, Cornelius, in his arms, content with everything he learned about her and Koba's relationship. Just before she left, she realized she didn't even know the name of his second son, so she thankfully remembered to ask. Sighing, an unknown and heavy weight lifted from her chest after their conversation, Haley shuffled back to her and Koba's hut with exhausted steps, smiling at the sight of him already splayed out in their nest. Without a sound, she laid down beside him, pausing for a moment when he stirred in his sleep, and rests her head in its usual spot on his scarred chest, angled perfectly for her to gaze through the gap in their 'door' and into the starred heavens while she tried to fall asleep. It's been twenty months since they began to share a hut, and with every passing month that he didn't touch her, she grew more and more comfortable and content as she curled up against him. Maybe that was why his scent never faded from her, even though they haven't done more that lay together in nearly two years.

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 **So, one of my lovely reviewers asked about the fact that apes and humans technically grow the same rate, we just manage to live longer with medicine and such. (I don't mind! I actually love questions like these! I just thought I should explain.) And although this is true, there's a huge difference, too. Humans do grow at the same rate, but we mature a lot slower than apes, something that comes from us living comfortably and not needing to take care of ourselves as soon as apes have to in the wild (Cornelius was walking around in days, for example) – evolution's a kick in the butt, am I right? Admittedly, I could have phrased this better in the story and could have used "mature" instead of "age"; I'll probably change that soon. Thank you all again for all these reviews and comments to help me better the fic! ^^**


	23. Only Human

That morning, as the sun was rising into the sky so slowly that it seemed as if it was being pulled down by some unexplained force, Haley's eyes pulled open with absolutely no drive, already enthusiastic for the night's close, and for a moment, just a moment, she completely forgot the events of the previous day. It was when she reached over to wake her mate for the day's hunt, her lips dry and her mouth still tasting of sleep as she released a tired yawn, and when her fingertips trailing over nothing but slick leaves and ridged pieces of grass and straw, that all the memories came flooding back and her eyes shot open in alarm, her body shooting up so she could study the empty nest around her. Immediately, she shot up from her apish bed and rushed out of the house, even if only to jump back into the doorway when Rocket nearly flattened her in his rush down the path. "What's going on? Have you seen Koba?" She called after him and quickly jogged to his side before she kept with his fast pace in brisk steps all the way outside of the village, the sight of a team of horses halting her in shock, "Uhm… is the hunt early?"

She was pleased to see Rocket turn around a few feet ahead in order to answer her, but before he had the chance, a horse suddenly reared into the space between them, compelling her to stumble back with a startled gasp before she found her ground, her ankle anchoring into the mud behind her, and saw him hopping onto the horse and gallop to a group if prepared hunters next to her. It was when he and his steed cleared her view, however, that she spotted Caesar ahead, seeing him lead another gorgeous beast to another ape, the sight making her pale in an instant – _he couldn't be._ Almost gliding through the air, she wormed through the bustling apes around her, every single one of them readying for their trip by getting on a horse or grabbing a spear, and sped to her old friend, heaving for air by the time she reached him and not surprised that he didn't notice her presence through his somber and hurried movements. "What's going on?" She announced her arrival, just in time to yelp out of the way of yet another prancing, mounted horse.

"Going to city." He grunted out with his usual, rumbling voice and moved to bridle his own horse, not even taking a second to acknowledge Haley's existence with a glance, "To show strength to humans and tell them forest is apes' home."

The tension that inexplicable loomed across the young woman's shoulders while her jaw slacked into a disbelieving gape seemed to have been thick enough for her to hop in surprise when he simply zipped a strap of the bridle into place. "What!?" She snapped as soon as his words processed – _did he not listen to a single thing she told him the previous night?_ "You can't go to the city!" She continued, seeming more furious than anything else as she swung her arm in the direction of the city behind her, "You already chased them off, didn't you? Isn't that enough?"

Suddenly, her surroundings fell eerily silent, the humid and cold atmosphere creating a thick layer on her dirty skin without reason – not even a squelch of mud or a rustle in the bushes could be heard – and it made her frown quickly, confused. Just like her, Caesar noticed it at once – though he might've noticed it sooner, having expected it after her words. With a kingly scowl, he looked around him, compelling Haley's gaze to follow and for her shoulders to slouch in shock when she saw every single ape staring at her without discretion, just before she witnessed the sight of them shuffling uncomfortably underneath Caesar's gaze and sluggishly going back to work, "What th—"

"Haley." Caesar interrupted sternly and finally circled around to her before he stepped closer and signed out of the other apes' sights, _"Best not to defend humans against apes in their presence – I know, you weren't doing that at all, but they won't see it that way."_

She knew he was right, but still the truth hit hard as her eyes flickered to the apes around her, her fists clenching irritably – _honestly_ , she thought, _they should know her better_. Nevertheless, while she looked one way and the other, and while she saw chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, even Maurice, all readying themselves to leave, another truth dawned on her and her face fell into dismay. "Wait," She breathed, setting her attention back on Caesar, just in time to see him climbing onto his own steed, "Is that also why I wasn't informed of the hunt – because I'm human?"

For some reason, words seemed to escape the King Ape at that exact moment, but unfortunately, the quiet was all the answer Haley needed.

"I've gone on every single hunt for the past two years!" She shouted up at him in outrage, not really caring for the few stares she earned in response, "I should be going, too! What do they think, that I'll chose the humans over them, even after all the shit they've cau—"

"Haley," He warned yet again, leering down at her from his high perch, and immediately, her breath hitched at the sight, her body flinching back and her throat growing dry in an instant – quickly, she was put back in her place, but not from the scorn of his look, but from the concern burning in the depth of those bright green eyes of his. "Fine…" She hummed low and bowed her head, but it only lasted a second before she looked back up, her eyes dark with a strange determination. "But be careful." She insisted as an almost desperate plea, "Remember what I told you last night: you are the only family I have left," she didn't pause, not taking notice of an accusing scowl drilling into her back, and simply stepped forward to place a consoling hand on his furry knee, "my home is wherever you are, Caesar, so don't you dare disappear on me – I don't know what I'd do."

 _"I wouldn't dare."_ He joked with an amused smiled on his dull lips, forcing her to shake her head with a small chuckle before she stepped away and allowed him to release an apish screech to tell the others to follow and then sped away. Still, despite their last words, she couldn't help but watch him with a strange uneasiness as he disappeared into the forest, remaining perfectly oblivious to Koba's torn glare being sent her way as he rode off after his leader, his own heart ailed with a truth that even she was not able to admit to herself yet. Unlike him, however, she was conflicted by the horrid fact that she still remained nothing but a human in the eyes of everyone around her – _how could she loathe being her species so much?_

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 ** _Another chapter to make up for not uploading yesterday. ^^ Please don't forget to comment, like, and/or follow if you feel this story deserves it. Remember, you all and all of your feedback is what keeps this fic going! Also, if you have the time, make sure to check out Mauryn's story "The Hard Facts Of Life," where she incorporates my OC into her own story. It's REALLY good! Seriously, I read it twice since she uploaded it... today. XD Her other stories are really good, too, so go check them out!_**


	24. Delusional Human

**_I think this has graphic content ahead, but I don't know. I don't think this counts; it's very mild._**

Knowing she'd go insane from just sitting in the village doing nothing and knowing that she'd go mad from just waiting for all the males to return while she racked her brain with worry, she chose to travel back to the waterfall, her own secret place where she was able to think, but as she explored more of the caverns she discovered behind the running waters, the more time seemed to fly without her knowledge, the labyrinth of caves seeming more endless the farther she went. Only when she placed her small hand on the cave wall to steady her steps did she realize how late it had become, her limb not even slightly visible in the pitch black, and only then did she have the strength to feel her way back out from behind the waterfall, just in time to see the first few droplets of rain cascading from the greying skies, as if warning for trouble to come. Yet, she didn't pay it any mind and continued back to the village, not surprised to hear that everyone had been back for a while. What did startle her, however, was Koba's absence between all the apes who were preparing for the night's rest, pulling her towards Caesar and Maurice for answers, who sat on top of the hill, even if only to get halted by the orangutan motioning her towards the huts on the side of the cliff.

She was surprised by Maurice's rash movement, him not even giving her time to reach them, but the fact only made her concern worse, realizing that he, too, must be worried about the ape's strange behavior – everyone knew that Koba never retired for the day until it was absolutely necessary. Her breaths grew loud in her ears, still barely loud enough to be heard over the nervous pounding of her heart, while she rushed down to her home, her pace growing more and more rushed with every passing second. She couldn't imagine him being hurt – she didn't even send him off when they left.

And so, when she stormed into the hut to see the sight of Koba fast asleep, just like the day before, her unease was flattened immediately and escape her body with a relieved sigh as she slumped against the frame next to her. The mere shatter of the anxiety that had built in her body in the few minutes of searching for him was enough to make her fall into the nest, back-first, next to Koba like a joint-less sack of potatoes – though, only a faint grumble and the feeling of a strong arm wrapping around her waist was enough to unwind her tight-knit nerves to the point where she could smile with ease. Too glad she was – _he was alright, just tired_.

After the sudden drop of stress, she quickly felt herself drifting off to sleep, only able to groan briefly when she felt Koba's grasp tighten around her, his face nuzzling into the side of her neck. "Koba?" She murmured weakly, but only got a tired grunt in return before she felt him snaking through her thick hair and sluggishly nip at her neck, sending a shiver across her shoulders and chest. Wearily, she tilted her head away from him to give more access, only edging him on and making him move over her, his experimental kisses trailing from the side of her neck to her jawline while his hand slid from her side to her hips. Despite her drowsiness, she could feel him unknowingly attempt to kiss like a human, the sentiment sending warmth rushing through her veins, her skin growing hot underneath his chapped and scarred lips. Drawing a faint but pleased groan from her lungs, her nerves tickled underneath his touch as his wrinkly fingers snuck beneath her shirt, his rubbery touch feeling soft from his body heat as he trailed it across her toned stomach, unintentionally following the outline of her muscles, and compelling her to arch into his embrace.

Placing himself between her numbing legs, he snuck another hand beneath her leather clothing, the sound of her shallow breaths echoing in his eager ears while he pressed his large body flush on top of her small frame, his own pleasure pushing him forward as his kisses grew more eager.

His tender touches and slow caress burned Haley's skin like fire, her tired mind slipping from its slight sleep to a cordial and hormonal daze that silenced the sound of the drizzling rain on their makeshift roof, a faint moan slipping pass her lips when his hands massaged her sides gently. "Koba." She breathed in bliss, forcing her eyes to creak open so she could gaze down at him, though barely a blurred image of his silhouette pierced pass her lashes. Barely notable, she saw his image clear up, but before it had the chance to finish, a face suddenly glided into her vision, her body instantly stiffening at the sight. Oddly human and bright green eyes peered down at her with a painful fondness flickering in their depths, dull lips sending a loving and apish smile down at her and erasing most of the creases around those caring eyes – it was the only face she could place with those tender touches, but she instantly knew that it was not him who was touching her, forcing her eyes to widen before she suddenly screamed a single word beyond her control, "Stop!"

Never before has Haley fled that quickly from an embrace before, cowering back against the wall behind her while she studied Koba in terror, his gaze looking no different from hers from where he still sat on his knees in their nest. The horrific silence felt as if it drew on forever before it was finally broken by an annoyed tisk, Koba tearing his gaze from her and gluing it to the doorwat to her left as he sat on the edge of the nest. "Did human ever stop loving Caesar?" He drawled out, and immediately, Haley felt her two years of progress shatter like fragile glass – no, it was a dilution, not progress – and made her face fall into dismay. _What was he talking about_ , she forced herself to wonder in denial, not allowing herselfto believe the reality that was clawing up from her subconscious, _it wasn't his face she saw, was it?_ Nevertheless, Koba knew, and so, when he glanced over his shoulder and saw her disbelieving and unblinking stare, he bared his canines with an annoyed growl and quickly looked away again. "Human didn't notice?" He continued lowly and paused before he asked something else instead, hoping it would get his point across, "Is home with Caesar or Koba?"

This time, Haley instantly knew what he was talking about and lowered her head in shame, the fact that she recognized what he was talking about allowing her to realize how terrible her words had been when she spoke to Caesar a few hours before. Instead of answering him, however, she asked her own question in a small mumble, "How many apes heard me?"

"Think it was just me." He answered, despite clearly not wanting to, before he circled around to leer at her and sign angrily, _"Why!?"_ He was only lucky that she could see it pass her bangs.

Quickly, her head shot up so she could glare at her mate, "So I can know how many other apes misunderstood what I said!" She could see her words deflating Koba's anger at once, though not completely, but she didn't dare to stop, knowing he'd want an explanation, "You know everything about my past, as I do yours, so you know I had no one – no one except Caesar," She began to relax, straightening her disheveled, fur coat on her shoulders, "he will always remain my family, Koba, and he is the only family I have left. You want me to think of you as family? Then this, whatever we have, is going to have to chance completely – I'll call you my brother, how's that?"

Eyes darkening at her taunt, he interrupted, "Human telling me she doesn't love Caesar?"

"You know I love him—" Haley snapped, quickly falling silent when her own breath hitched in alarm, those words leaving her mouth dry, her body growing heavy when she realized it was her first time admitting it aloud. Shaking her head, however, she forced herself to snap out of her shocked and frozen state. "You knew from the very start that I did." She pressed breathily, her brows knitting with an odd combination of pity and sorrow as she nudged closer to her mate, "Though you've never said it aloud, you knew I went into this with my only intent being to forget about Caesar," Koba briskly turned away and unintentionally gave her everything she needed to confirm her suspicions, "but never have I been able to figure out why you agreed to this, so what was it? You could have just walked away, something I am sure you thought about. I thought it could have been out of a fear of what Caesar would do to you if he knew the truth, but you knew I would never let him find out, so what could it have been?"

She saw his head turning her way, but not nearly far enough to be able to gaze into his blind eye, especially not far enough to look into the other, and never did he say a single word. At least a minute passed without her receiving an answer before she sighed in defeat, knowing there wasn't one to give – he didn't know his reasons either. Nevertheless, their first true and honest discussion after two years of being together allowed her to realize one simple and haunting fact, something that made her chest clench with fear, a fear of what exactly her heart was capable of when she isn't paying attention to it. It was a realization that came to her when she knew she didn't want Koba to leave her.

"Koba," She hummed, interrupting the isolation of nature's enchanting song, and pushed herself back onto the nest beside him before shakily placing a single hand on his shoulder, still unable to see his face but clearly seeing him stiffen under her touch. "Despite what you believe," she began in a whisper, her eyes wandering over the hairless spots and the scars on the bonobo's shoulders and back while she looked for something to focus on, her tongue feeling heavier than steel while those necessary words struggled to be said, "I do…" her words trailed off, her grasp tightening on his shoulder, while she squeezed her eyes shut, as if not seeing him would make it easier for her to confess what she had realize only a few moments ago, "I do-… I do love—"

Koba and Haley immediately broke apart and looked to each other in alarm when the sound of a gorilla's scream vibrated across the village, their conversation turned entirely irrelevant when their duties became their focus. Swiftly, both of the shot up and sped from the hut – of only they forgot their duties for a few seconds and allowed her to finish, then maybe things would have ended with peace. But no, only in her thoughts was she able to finish, 'I do love you, Koba.'

 **I really hope you can all get some enjoyment out of this one, because I personally think it's just sappy and terrible. On the bright side, I almost didn't upload anything, so...**


	25. Barely Human

"Human lies."

Haley felt nauseated to her stomach as she watched the scene unfold a few yards ahead of her, the sight of the older human male being tossed into the sludge riddling her with disgust – whether the disgust was towards the apes' behavior, towards the man, or towards herself, she wasn't sure. Her own body shook with fear as the village hooted around him frantically, as if calling for his head, but her protests remained stuck in her dry throat. Lower and deeper, her feet seemed to sink into the mud below her while she stood unmoving, the declining rain drenching her to the bone as the droplets cascaded over her icy skin and trailed with the many scars that littered her body, eventually pooling on the ground around her. The urge to walk over and save him tore at her conscience, making her unsure if it's because she knew he meant no harm or if it was because he was human like her, but still she never so much as inched forward, Caesar's words stopping her every time she so much as thought about moving.

 _"Best not to defend humans against apes in their presence–"_

Swallowing her urge, she searched for the ape king between the rowdy and unruly troop of apes, only to find him emerging atop the stone hill so he could loom over the scene. For a moment, she saw his knowing look, confirming her instincts to stay back, which earned a stiff nod from her before she pulled her feet free from the clay with loud squelches and stood a few more step back, just making sure she couldn't jump in on instinct. Nevertheless, despite the fact that she was flattered by him still looking out for her – all-while cursing herself when she felt his acknowledgement warm her heart, now knowing why – she couldn't help but crave for the time where it wouldn't be necessary anymore. _When_ , she wondered, _will she become strong enough to be a true part of their colony?_ Funny how two years of strength gained could be labeled insignificant so quickly when humans worm their way into your life.

Dismissing the thought away to spare herself the emotional turmoil, she directed her attention back to the matter at hand, disappointed by the fact that it made everything so much worse. Her push for paying attention didn't change the reason for why the apes were gibbering and hooting over the human male's pleas in the first place, their noises muffling the sound of him asking for Caesar to allow him to explain, which was nothing other than Koba's deceleration that the human was lying.

 _"Humans lie!"_ She still recalled Koba's deceleration from the day she arrived and was in the same predicament, the memory flickering to life like the first spark to a dangerous fire. Mingled with her worry for the man's safety came a daunting suspicion, allowing her to narrow her eyes at the small glimpses of her mate that she could see in between the crowd of apes that separated them.

For a split second, Caesar's gaze flickered back to her, studying her as if to see if she thought trusting Malcolm was a good idea, but by merely seeing her stiff and tense shoulders from forcing herself to stay back, he already knew her stance on the affair, and so, he came to his conclusion and told the man to show him whatever it was that was so important, allowing the troop to scatter in every-which way to prepare for their excursion while a couple of gorillas dragged Malcolm back out of the village. Haley, however, stood stock-still as Koba inescapably walked her way, him never acknowledging her presence with a single glance as he limped pass her.

"Humans lie," She interrupted his cold shoulder against his will, however, and forced him to stop a few inches behind her – this time, she made sure to keep herself silent enough to keep their conversation private, "do you still believe that?"

Of course, he didn't answer.

"For two years, I have not lied to you once – that is, not over something I wasn't lying to myself about already —" She continued, her tone almost frighteningly emotionless and calm, and circled herself around to scowl at him, "so what am I? Has your view on humans changed, even in the slightest?"

 _"_ _No."_ He signed over his shoulder with an annoyed gibber before turning towards her as well, a simple-enough but infuriating answer to his wife.

"And what makes me so different then?" She asked yet again, her straightforward spirit not wavering, "Tell me, Koba, why does me being honest not affect your view over humans?"

 _"_ _Human no longer one of them."_

"I might live here, but I never stopped being human, Koba," She kept pushing, a horrid inkling of what he meant bubbling up her throat with a growing anger, "I am no longer one of them? Then what am I, because you've made it quite clear that I am not an ape either." She saw fury burning in his growing glare, but she didn't care in the slightest, because the mere possibility that she was right about what she thought he was insinuating made her feel sick. "Tell me," She spoke yet again, "in your eyes, am I no longer even a valid part of the equation, no longer valid as an entire person?" Just as she expected, Koba still couldn't answer – with his signature leer, he stood with his apish hunch and watched her without a single sound, until finally, he released a frustrated grunt and stalked off, leaving Haley with the only answer she needed.

At once, her confidence and posture was shattered, her lips pursing as she nodded to herself and bit back her tears – no, she was pass tears. Breaking, she released an exasperated, mocking, and breathy chuckle. So she was no longer human enough to be considered a human, but still she was human enough to not be an ape.

 _What was she then?_

Thankfully startling her thoughts blank before they could eat away at her, she felt a consoling hand suddenly rest on and pat her shoulder, patting a few pounds from her heavy heart before she even had a chance to glance down at the orangutan. Cooing softly, he nodded after the fuming bonobo and signed, _"Is everything alright?"_ Never did he regret not eavesdropping that much, seeing the pain glossing over her brown eyes despite the reassuring smile being sent down at him.

"I'm alright – just a disagreement." She lied, secretly hoping that her words were true, and gave one last look in the direction where Koba disappeared before she fetched her bow and arrow from their hut – no way in hell was she staying behind again.

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 **I kinda feel that the last two chapters led to this, so voila! ^^ Please remember to like if you enjoyed it, follow if you want a notification for the next chapter, and comment to keep me motivated - that, or to tell me about something I got wrong.**


	26. Natural Born Talent

Luckily, before Caesar or Maurice had the chance to advise Haley against her choice to go along with them on their excursion, she was already swinging along with other apes through the trees behind the team of mounted horses below, her arms bare while her soaked cloak still lay in her hut back in the village, too heavy to wear. The entire way, she could feel the human male glancing up at the trees to look for her and give her a disbelieving look while he led the way, but she didn't pay his peeks any mind – not even once. She knew very well that her ways were odd in the eyes of other humans – her muscular arms, legs, and stomach were abnormal, just like her scarred flesh and harshly-tanned skin, white spots littering her shoulders and cheeks as evidence of her past burns.

"This is what we used to call the 'small hydro.'" She heard the man explain to the apes on the other side of the room, her attention long-since occupied by the strange devices around her while she wandered through the warehouse of the dam and studied its odd interior, "It was built to service areas to the north of here, but we've been working to the reroute the power lines to the city, because it used to run off nuclear power, but that ran out years ago."

With twinkling eyes, she ran her hands over the control panels and dials curiously, somehow still managing to clear the layer of dust with her dirt-covered touch before she leaned forward and studied the complicated numbers, symbols, and equations closer, staying ignorantly oblivious to the concerned glances she received from Caesar, Rocket, and Maurice whenever Malcolm turned his back to them, like parents to a wandering kid. The discussion behind her turned muffled and fuzzy as her concentration grew and she read over the different types of units in an attempt to understand them, only eventually discovering an old notebook discarded on the floor, wiping it clean before paging through it, but the farther she got, the more her brows knitted together with fascination. She felt perplexed – she felt bewildered – she felt puzzled – she was in awe that she was able to comprehend most of the writing. Blinded by her assumption of how simple the engineers and scientist must have written their notes for others to understand, she remained clueless to the fact that they didn't do any such thing.

Enthralled by the equations and diagrams, she didn't notice the conversation growing thin by the exit, the apes and human soon reaching an agreement, though Koba wasn't satisfied at all when Caesar said he would allowed the humans to work on the dam – though, only if they handed over all their guns. The only thing that finally pierced her attentiveness and compelled her to quickly shut the book was sudden, booming footsteps and the feeling of steel vibrating underneath her bare feet, both of which was enough for her to know exactly who was approaching her. Swiftly tossing the book back to the ground, like a child caught with the jar of cookies on the top shelf, she whisked around to the towering gorilla and blocked his view of the book with her own body. For just a second, however, her gaze was on Luca, but the second after, it shifted to his side and to the bottom of the steps that led to the steel platform on which she stood, where only Maurice still waited. _"Coming?"_ The orangutan signed and immediately got a sheepish smile in return before Haley slipped pass Luca's large form, signing a quick thank-you to the gorilla for coming to get her, and moved back out of the dam. Since when she was tied to the wooden pole two years ago and signed 'thank you' to Luca when he freed her, she's made it an odd tradition to sign her thank-you's to him whenever it was necessary, which turned more and more common after she realized he was a giant teddy bear. Still, that didn't change the fact that he didn't talk much, so while they caught up with the others, it was up to Maurice to inform her of what was going on, telling her about the fact that she was about to meet the same group of humans again, including the man who enraged her and the woman who couldn't stop staring.

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 **There you go! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and feel the need to like, follow, and/or comment, because you're welcome to! ^^**


	27. Human Work and Stubbornness

Naturally, Haley did not feel offended or surprised by the fact that the group of humans were reluctant to step out of their vehicle in the middle of a crowd of glaring apes, even more so when they were handing over their guns, but she was agitated when the woman's eyes, once again, glued themselves to her with such an intense curiosity that it made her uncomfortable. Nevertheless, Haley didn't acknowledge the lady's stare even once while everyone waited, and only peeked back through the trees while she was swinging back home, and when their eyes shockingly met, she couldn't help but feel that she needed to recognize the older woman, so why couldn't she?

Maurice could clearly see something was nagging at Haley as she sat next to him by the fire that night, Rocket destroying the weapons on the other side of her, but he didn't dare to ask what it was – not that he really had a choice as she endlessly advised Rocket to be careful not to pull or touch certain things on the guns, her family having been a group of people who enjoyed hunting for sport. Luckily, the distain she held on this was written all over her face and obvious enough that no ape seemed bothered by her family's ways – everyone knew that she never enjoying killing unless it was for food.

To Haley it felt, just for a while, as if the day was going to end with the comfortable silence that loomed across the village, but with eavesdropping ears, she heard Koba's voice shatter her hope immediately.

"Human work." He drawled out to his leader as he motioned to his many scars and blemishes, his growl thick and rough, "Human work. Human work."

Unlike Maurice, Haley kept her eyes away from the argument and on the ground by her filthy feet, her still-nude arms only hugging her knees closer to her flat chest while her toes dug nervously into the mud. Somehow, she felt as if she had no right to look, not even when Koba's insolence was crushed by a single look from Caesar, and instead, she felt a persistent need grasp and tighten painfully around her heart. She felt almost overwhelmed by the need to rush over to her mate and embrace him- hold him- kiss him, and tell him that her actions were human work as well, but it wouldn't have accomplished anything, she realized – he didn't even think she was an entire human, after all. She knew that he just said that out of anger and frustration, but it didn't matter; if he was able to say it, he was thinking it, and if he thought it, he meant it.

Quickly, the fact that he's been ignoring her for the last few hours was made irrelevant, and so was the fact that the other apes began to do the same thing when they noticed the growing rift between the king's right hand and his human mate – that is, everyone except the other apes on the council, Ash, Blue Eyes, and Cornelia, who didn't seem to care either way.

Watching Koba rush away in a knuckle-walk, holding himself as low as possible under the eerie and accusing quiet, Haley sighed softly. "Maurice?" She called the orangutan's attention with a small hum, happy to hear him circling back her way immediately, though she didn't have the courage to look him in the eye before she continued, "What am I – human or ape?"

There was a confused pause, a concerned frown moving to Maurice's non-existent brows, but eventually he signed in slow and sluggish movement, _"Why not both?"_

 _She should have known he'd say something like that_ , she realized with a tired and displeased chuckle, unintentionally making Maurice add, _"Haley can be first of a kind."_

"I suppose I can." She mumbled, but the sarcasm that hang heavy on her words didn't go unheard by her friend.

Nonetheless, that's where the conversation ended and he was left to watch her as she stood and snuck from the village, assuming she was heading back to the waterfall to think. Like clockwork, he gave Caesar a troubled glance behind him regardless, but only to find the ape already watching her leave with an unease as well – both of them knew she was too stubborn to listen, however, so neither budged, but unfortunately, this kept them oblivious to the fact that she had no intention of going back to the waterfall that night.

* * *

 **Apologies for the silence yesterday, but I didn't have the strength to move, let alone write, which also contributed to the quality of this piece. Should have something for you all again tomorrow, though, so have a nice night!**


	28. What Is Ape

"Malcolm, I think one of us should stand guard tonight."

With the sun set, Muir Woods was finally clouded in the night's eerie shadow. The captivating green grass and leaves were turned to a nauseating, greyish shade and the high treetops were completely blackened out into a mystery, the trees' dark bark becoming nothing more than raven lines in the distance. From the skies, only three patches of fire's light could be seen fighting to stay alive: one hidden between tall buildings and skyscrapers, another dimming out next to a waterfall and clouded in the rough water's mist, and, the last, a weak flicker of orange light between the thickly-packed trees.

Huddled together next to feeble tents and between the few bags they could stuff in the back of their car that was still abandoned in the road a klick away, the group of humans sat around a small campfire in the middle of the forest with fear and hope of what the next day could hold. Not a single one of them felt hungry, dread hanging too heavy in their empty stomachs, but still they took unenthusiastic bites from the rations they had brought along, just to collect their strength.

"With what? They took our guns." Foster quipped as he poked at the fire, his half-eaten bowl of food long-since given away to Alex, Malcolm's son. Alex did pointed out how Foster was the biggest of the group, more like a giant than anything, so he needed more food for it to do him any good, but he merely got the fact that he was young and growing thrown back at him. Foster didn't seem to care that Alex was already fifteen and pretty much pass puberty.

"If they wanted us dead, we would already be dead." Malcolm intervened, still trying his best to rationalize with the few soldiers on their team.

"Maybe they're just taking their time." Carver interrupted, however, "They killed off half of the planet already." Immediately, the others paused in their movements, confusion emanating from each one of them, but the pause of silence didn't last long before Ellie finally spoke up against his words, wanting to explain their confusion after seeing his inability to notice what it was for.

"Come on." She scoffed, "You can't honestly blame the apes."

"Who the hell else am I going to blame?" He snapped back, oblivious to the rustling above them that was caused by his words.

High above their heads, crouched low on a branch, a pair of curious eyes was lit in the campfire's orange light and watching them in secret from behind the small opening in a bushel of leaves, moving from one speaker to the next slowly and listening to every single word inventively, hoping to see how humans are supposed to act. Gulping with an odd sense of alarm at the angry man's words, Haley hid farther behind her cover and tightened her hand around the leverage above her, fighting the urge to yell at him for what he said. He continued talking about how it was called the Simian Flu, somehow thinking that was evidence for his point, but this only allowed Haley's fury to grow. Still, she was almost grateful, because, hidden behind her rage, she was able to ignore a guilt that had been plaguing her mind – guilt for leaving the village to go watch the humans. Shaking her head at the inner-conflict, she leaned closer to the conversation below and poked her head over the green cloud in front of her to literally clear the air and hear better, unknowingly placing her face in the campfire's light. Although, anger only boiled stronger inside of her as she watched him continue to fight to dignify his hatred, using the losses of everyone around him to stand by his claim, and felt more than pleased when he got shot down by the others every time. _So everyone lost a bit of their lives with this flu_ , she thought, _mothers, children, and the ability to see reason_.

"Right… I'm the asshole." Were the last words she caught before she saw the cruel wan stand and stomp off, once again resisting her urge to yell – this time to agree with him about him being an asshole.

Sighing to herself, Haley sat down on the branch beneath her feet, slipping her legs out of their perch, and found herself even more bewildered than before. Skimming over the group, she looked for and wondered what exactly made humans human, because, so far, she saw no difference to them when comparing them to the apes she lives with – they were torn between outlooks but banned together because of their species.

Nonetheless, her thoughts were stolen when her gaze met a pair of bright green orbs, her entire body flinching back in shock. Glancing left and right, Haley desperately looked for something else that the woman could be staring at, but nothing soothed her pounding heart.

"Are you okay?" Malcolm whispered to Ellie, concern flooding him when he saw her staring wide-eyed into open air, her face contorted in deep concentration. Like all the others who still sat there, he couldn't help but follow her directions as she shakily pointed up into the trees, and felt his mouth grow dry as soon as he spotted the human face that was watching them, only its cheeks, nose, and forehead ominously lit by their campfire.

Immediately, Haley sprang up from her comfortable spot and spun to leave, her fear now confirmed that she had been seen, but alas, she didn't have the chance.

"Wait!" Ellie called quickly, surprised, just like Haley, that she actually stopped, "You can come down, you know."

The nagging guilt only grew inside Haley when she was tempted by the offer, prompting her to glance at the camp behind her, confliction written all over her face – _what harm could it do_ , she reasoned, _she needed to know where she belonged the most anyway_. And so, swallowing her inner blame, she climbed down the tall tree and hesitantly walked over the campsite and into the light, her steps slow and her legs heavy.

Immediately, the group studied her strange appearance, pausing at the marks on her skin, the dreads of blonde hair that was amateurishly cut to her shoulders, the leather wrapped around her waist and around what looked like a ripped pair of pajama shorts, and at the leather shapes that covered her front and back, loosely tied together at her sides and shoulders by thick thread. Only when they saw her step back again, shifting uncomfortably under their stares, did they finally snap out of it.

"Did Caesar send you? Is there a problem?" Malcolm spoke unsurely, glancing to the others for more possibilities, but, seeming just as unsure as him, Haley shook her head, barely noticeable with how small it was, but then quickly, as if thinking humans wouldn't understand her without her speaking every single word aloud, she added, "N-no…"

"Oh." He hummed, even more confused than before, but as the silence threatened to return, he decided to change the subject and simply cleared his throat before he motioned to himself and everyone around him, "Well, I'm Malcom; this is my son, Alex—"

'The quiet and unsure one—' Haley found herself thinking when she looked to the drawn-back young man, '—Blue Eyes.'

"And this is my wife, Ellie." He said, happy to see the wild girl following his every move.

'The one that keeps staring and tries to reason with those that can't be reasoned with—' She kept wondering to herself, brief amusement prickling to life inside of her, '—Maurice maybe?'

"And then we have Foster," Malcolm didn't stop, not thinking anything of it when Haley's eyes lingered on his wife, "and Kemp. And the one who walked off earlier is Carver."

'The dark-skinned man,' Haley thought when she studied the larger gentleman, 'the one that is less intimidating than he seems and always acts like the protector – like Luca.' Haley compared one human after the other to the apes back home, almost scared by the similarities, 'And then the one that focused on preparing for an attack rather than eating, who listened to the others rather than joining the argument – like Rocket. And then Carver—'

Haley's jaw clenched when the attributes of the infuriating man matched perfectly with her own mate, never taking the time to compare Malcolm with Caesar. "Haley." She finally forced out, direction her eyes back onto him and away from the direction where Carver disappeared, "My name, it's Haley."

"Nice to meet you, Haley." He chuckled and moved to shake her hand, but only to halt when he saw her jump back at the sudden movement – though, he couldn't help but note how shocked she seemed by her own actions, too. Still, none of this could compare to the shock and disbelief that soon followed.

"Haley," Ellie intervened and immediately grabbed Haley's undivided and surprised attention, "Haley Hunsiker?"

Haley wasn't sure if it was because she finally heard her name being said by the woman or if it was simply her memories flooding back at that coincidental moment, or maybe even because she now knew the woman's name, but her face fell into astonishment when she finally remembered why she felt as if she knew Ellie. Face growing pale in disbelief, Haley gaped at her in silence, unmoving, and unwittingly gave Ellie all the confirmation she needed that the wild girl she met in the woods was indeed _the_ Haley Hunsiker.

"So that's why you kept staring." Haley hummed an hour later, glaring at the campfire as she sat on a large stone beside Ellie, a single leg perched on it with her, "and also why I couldn't recognize you – by the time you arrived, all the doctors looked the same to me."

"And I can't blame you for feeling that way: you spent most of your time in the hospital, and I say that even thought I got my doctorate and showed up when you spent less time there." Ellie agreed solemnly, eyes watching the others on her team as they got the camp ready for the night's rest, "When the flu broke out, I was worried it affected you, given your history with catching diseases so easily."

Haley simply shook her head, "I haven't been sick since then."

"Your immune system must have gotten very strong after fighting non-stop for so long." Ellie theorized, but dismissed the subject quickly, "How old are you now, anyway?" she asked with sincere interest, "The last I saw you, you were eight- nine-"

"Eleven." Haley corrected with a faint chuckle, "And I don't really know. I think twenty-one, but I can't be sure – it's been too long since it really mattered."

"I suppose." Ellie nodded, but felt her worry for her old patient only amplify - after all, she had Malcolm, just as Alex did, but if Haley's alone, exactly how long has she been like that? Ellie, of course, didn't know that Haley has been anything but alone since two years ago.

"I never got the chance –" Haley broke the quiet, her chin burying deeper into her knee in front of her as her nerves fought against her words, "—I never had the chance to thank you, so… thank you. I think you were the most patient doctor there; you never seemed to get annoyed when my babysitter walked me back into the office with the same issue as the previous week, the drugs not working like it was supposed to."

For a moment, Ellie paused, a flattered smile growing on her lips, but eventually she added, "You're welcome."

Back at the apes' village, the colony was doing nothing different from the humans, everyone getting ready for sleep while Caesar pushed his tired body up the steps of the tree and into his home, an exhausted but joyous smile gracing his lips when he saw Cornelia pull her heavy eyelids open to welcome him home. Carefully, he laid himself down beside her and perched himself heavily on a single elbow so he could loom over her and pet his son, the young ape still asleep on her chest. For a while, he could just adore the site before him, but the raspy breath that tickled his ears quickly forced a frown to his face. _"You sound sick. Are you okay?"_ He signed, but despite his worry, the day's pent-up anxiety deflated as he lay next to her.

 _"Just need rest."_ She signed with a reassuring smile, careful not to wake Cornelius from where she kept him in place with her other hand, but even if she saw Caesar relax at her words, a knowing feeling left her uneasy. _"You worry about the humans…"_ She added with loving pity, her heart reaching out for the wise ape, _"…and about Haley."_

For a moment, Caesar stiffened, but it soon passed as his face pulled into a glower, the worried wrinkles returning to his skin. _"She defends the humans around the apes."_ He explained, his expression softening slightly.

 _"You do, too."_ Cornelia pointed out, _"What makes it different?"_

 _"She's human – she forgets."_ He tried to explained, but somehow he felt as if every single word he said was a lied, causing his body to tense as he pulled his hand away from Cornelius, and who other to voice what he unknowingly thought than the ape who knew him best of all.

 _"What makes ape ape?"_ Cornelia asked, her everlasting and reassuring smile faltering as sympathy for her human friend increased, _"Haley more ape than some here."_

Sighing at the thought, somehow not able to deny Cornelia's claim, Caesar maneuvered his arm out beneath him and got ready to lay down, just in time to glimpse through a crack in the wall and see Haley walking back into the village, Luca walking with her from where he must have been guarding the entrance. In deep thought, Caesar laid down and wondered if anyone else thought the same as his wife or if his friend's life will get worse in the days to come – with all his heart, he hoped it was the first.

 **To make up for yesterday's silence, I give you this long-ass part, lmao. It was going to be short, but let's just think of it as the universe gifting you with more.**


	29. Growing Fear

Reality felt fuzzy and sheared when Hale finally dragged her feet back into her hut in the middle of the night, but she only rubbed at her tired eyes in some unfruitful attempt to get rid of the blurred surroundings, too drained to do anything else. Never has she felt as exhausted in her life as when she leaned her quiver and hunting bow against the wall and tossed her tired body back into the nest, only enough strength to make sure she didn't collapse on top of Koba by accident. She could feel every single one of her joints slack in delight when they didn't have to keep her up anymore, the tension in her shoulders quickly fading away, and silently sighed the last bit of stress pass her lips. She didn't dare to reflect back on the day – a day of being told she was a worthless human, a day of being told she wasn't valid as a person, a day of realizing her feelings for Caesar never changed, and a day of being ignored by her mate, who she finally realized she loved – but still her gaze shifted to the ape next to her without her control, her chest tightening from pure, mental torment. Nibbling her lip in contemplation, she turned herself to Koba and perched herself on her elbow to loom over him. For a minute, she just watched him sleep, her pained eyes studying his chest as it rose and fell steadily and tearing at the sight of the pale scars that part his dark skin and unhealthy hair, his pelt ruined from all the abuse he had taken in his past. But eventually, she reached up and gingerly poked his chin, the prickly hairs tickling her fingertip. She repeated this a few times before Koba finally stirred and groaned in protest to be woken so early (or late, as it was) before he finally pulled his eyes open, his green orbs falling on Haley's immediately.

The sight of his face contorting in distaste when he saw her stabbed viciously, but before he had the chance to whisk around and turn his back towards her, she growled in frustration and quickly straddle his waist, locking him in place. "No, you've ignored me long enough." She scolded with a huff, scowling at the stubborn bonobo beneath her, and as soon as she saw him slouch back in defeat and look away, her glare fell and she sighed again, "Listen," she continued more calmly, playing with the few disheveled patches of hair on his lower stomach to occupy her hands, "can you at least look at me? I don't want to fight anymore."

Haley found herself instantly awash in relief when his demeanor softened and he forced his head to stiffly turn back her way, his pride clearly fighting against his choice. "You know, you never gave me the chance to finish what I was telling you this morning." She pointed out with an almost playful smile and leaned down to place her hand against his neck as her blonde dreads fell pass her shoulders to frame her shadowy face. Her smile only grew when she caught Koba's frown dissipating into shock, his heterochromatic eyes never-before as bright and wide as they were in that moment. "You know my affection for Caesar isn't going to die." She confessed drearily, not surprised when she felt Koba tense underneath her, but merely closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his, his fur pleasantly stroking her thighs when her lower body inescapably rose from his, "but," she interrupted, once again feeling her mate relax as her hot breath washed across his face, his eyes falling shut, "I…" she trailed off for a moment, her heart hammering loud in her ears as nerves weighed heavy on her tongue. Nevertheless, her nerves quickly unwound when she felt a warmth stroke her cheek, Koba's leathery touch cupping her face, and eventually forced her words out, "I love you, Koba, and I think I do more than I do any other ape."

'No, you don't.' A chilling voice whispered in her ear, but she didn't seem to hear it as dull and dry lips experimentally brushed against hers. In a single moment, Haley realized that she never kissed the bonobo she, supposedly, loves, her breath hitching at the thought, and peeked at the shut eyes in front of her before she finally inched forward as well. Unsure, she reluctantly pressed her lips against Koba's, the almost non-existent edges feeling like chapped and dry paper to her soft and tender flesh, but slowly, as her heart pounded harder in her chest, she melted into the foreign feeling. A pleasing shiver ran across her skin as Koba's fingers slid into her tangled hair, his head tilting against her with the same uncertainty she felt slowly fading from her body. She could do nothing but hum in encouragement as Koba sat up and allowed her to straddle his lap, a single arm wrapping around her middle and pulling her close.

Enthralled by the feeling of his hard chest pressing against hers, she curled her arms around neck, his rough hairs sending satisfying tingles up her wrists and biceps, and held him as close as she could, sluggishly deepening their inexperienced kiss and trailing her tongue across his lips on instinct to ask for access. She could feel the reluctance coming from Koba as he parted his lips for her, humoring her, but smirked despite herself when he grunted in approval at the sensation of her licking against his canines, even if only to get interrupted by his frustrated growl and him grabbing her wrists from behind his neck and wrenching them away, forcing an aroused whimper passed her lips – she knew not when or where she fell into the pit of no return and began to enjoy his forceful touches, but her mind was too clouded to think about it. Breaths shallow and ragged, Haley's head fell back as he licked at her neck and left agonizingly gentle kisses across her collarbone, his memory all-too clear of how she enjoyed it before – if anything, she was almost scared by how quickly she was at his mercy.

Her wrists ached under their new bruises when he finally let go so he could wrap his arms around her middle, driving a faint moan from Haley as she was pulled down to feel his growing aroused through her clothes. "Koba." She pleaded breathily, completely and enjoyably victimized in the power of his embrace, his mouth viciously attacking her neck, collarbone, and shoulder like the animal he was. _Gods, how cruel and untrue can she be – she was just with the humans._

As his leathery skin and prickly fur sent pulses of bliss down her spine, his hands wandering up and down her back from beneath her shirt, and as her body involuntary grinded against him with moans and whimpers, Carver's words wormed themselves into her thoughts. Her family, her species, they have all suffered from the Simian Flu. In a single moment – a confusing and unexplained moment – misdirected anger bubbled through her veins, forcing her eyes to darken and her body to still while Koba continued to touch her obliviously. Cold, slick, and solid, Haley suddenly felt something in her hand and snuck her arms over the ape's shoulders to gain the ability to raise her grasp behind him and out of sight, curiosity overwhelming her. There, glimmering in all its silver and deadly glory, a dagger remained clasped in her hand, her lips pulled into a ghastly smirk at the sight. Somehow, she knew what she had the weapon for, even if she knew it was for reasons she would personally never have, which made the entire situation so much more bewildering.

Thoughts of Gen-Sys forced themselves into her mind – thoughts of how Koba started it all, and how he was the one who spread the virus and destroyed the lives of so many humans, her kind – and before she knew what was overtaking her, or how it overtook her, she felt fresh blood covering her hand while it, on its own, pushed the blade through Koba's spine and into his heart. Immediately, an agonizing and apish roar screech across the hut, never destroying the uncharacteristic craze in Haley's eyes, but as it echoed around her, it inexplicably morphed into a human cry. With fear suddenly shaking her to the core, Haley broke away, and the person who collapsed like a corpse in front of her only amplified her horror. Completely nude, she laid before herself, mouth agape from her final word – her final scream – and her form unmoving. Quickly, Haley tossed the dagger to the floor with a metallic clatter and jumped from her mirror's lap, but as she stepped away, an unnatural limp in her step, she halted in terror. Slowly, reality dawning on her, she looked down, and immediately felt nauseated when she saw her hands, Koba's palms where hers should be.

"Human," She growled in disgust, the words tossed from her mouth like vomit and the rumbly voice definitely not her own – she was Koba, "no place here. Humans not ape! You must die!"

Like a violent jerk, the hellish and twisted world was suddenly ripped away from her, and never before did Haley feel so relieved to be shaking in fear as when her eyes shot open that morning, her breaths ragged and her skin soaked in nervous sweats. As if trying to wipe the nightmare from her memory, she harshly rubbed her face clean with her trembling hands, only to quickly jerk them away and study them to make sure they were her own this time, sighing with relief as soon as she saw they were. Though, the calm quickly passed when Koba's presence in her nightmare came back to her attention, making her sit up in alarm and search the nest around her for him, somehow craving for his touch despite the context of what she just witnessed. Nevertheless, to her disappointment, she found him stalking out the door, silent as ever.

"Where are you going?" She stuttered out, too uneasy after her nightmare to keep herself composed, not matter how hard she tried, but unlike what she hoped for, she barely got a grunted "hunting" before he disappeared from view. His demeanor left her to narrow her eyes at the doorway suspiciously, somehow doubting his answer, which only increased when she saw his spear still leaning against the wall, untouched.

 _When has he ever left without his weapon_ , she tried to recall, but merely dismissed the thought while she forced herself to get ready for the day, trying her best to shake off the fear that still coursed through her. After all, she'll soon come face-to-face with Koba in another way anyway – Carver.

* * *

 **I think someone's getting a bit scared of what being human means for herself around Koba. Anyways~ Thank you all for reading. Don't forget to like, follow, and/or leave more of those sweet comments I love so much.**


	30. Human and Ape Pride

After the night she had, it was no surprise that Haley still felt exhausted as she and the apes made their way down to the campsite, mostly trusting her horse to know where it was going while her head drooped time and time again, threatening her with unwelcomed sleep, but every time the memory of her nightmare flashed to life behind her eyelids, she quickly snapped back to attention, no desire to relive it. An entire day of troubles and stress made her deserving of a rest, but, seeing as the previous night was proof that her brain doesn't agree, Haley's need to pass out stacked wickedly. If not her exhaustion, she swore the cold would soon put her to sleep, her coat still wet and useless back at the village thanks to the humid atmosphere the woods so lovingly granted them with – sarcasm if you couldn't tell.

Yet again, she drawled out a yawn beside the dam where the humans were working, following with an annoyed groan as she rubbed her sore eyes in annoyance; even her horse seemed annoyed with her.

"Haley," A deep and hollow rumble interrupted and compelled her to straighten herself up, as if attempting to hide her fatigue, despite Maurice obviously knowing already. Taking his time to gibber in amusement first, Maurice shook his head at her, before he continued to sign with a single hand, his other keeping a tight grasp on the horse's bridle, _"You've been yawning non-stop – are you okay?"_

"Yeah," She chuckled meekly, though the orangutan remained unconvinced, "Just another argument… sorta."

"Koba?" He guessed and, no surprise, he got a confirming nod in return.

"A nightmare." She denied the second after, however, and frowned with uncertainty – _was she rattled because of Koba or because of her nightmare, and were those things really so different?_ Yawning yet again, she shook the thought away, too tired to think about it, and shifted more comfortably on her unsaddled steed before giving it a gentle kick on its side to gallop to the other horses ahead, Maurice following close behind. Blue Eyes quickly glanced over his shoulder, Cornelius doing the same from where he hung on his older brother's chest, undoubtedly alarmed by the sudden thrashing of water behind them, but quickly relaxed when he saw Haley and the large ape catching up to him and the others, watching them until they halted beside Rocket on the other side of his father.

"Anything?" Haley interjected persistently, her eyes glossing over the dam in front of them, unaware of Caesar's face darkening at her words before he grumbled an uneasy 'no.' Clearly, Haley wasn't the only one worried about the lack of movement from the humans inside – of course, they knew it wouldn't be a quick slip inside to fix what needed to be fixed, but the eerie silence was deafening. "Maybe I should go—" Haley wanted to suggest, but her words were immediately lost when the earth rumbled underneath the horses with a haunting boom, urging all of the beasts to whinny in alarm and rear violently – it took every last bit of Haley's physical strength to hold onto the animal, just like Blue Eyes held onto his brother with everything he had.

"Wh-what the hell was that!?" Haley breathed in horror once her horse settled, petting its neck to console it, and wracked her mind with everything that could've happened to the humans inside the dam, but only got an unsure grunt from Rocket. Eyes narrowing, Haley watched the council members glare at the dam, as if trying to see through the ground to discover what has happened, and felt disbelief overwhelm her when none of them so much as budged; Haley could see the desire to help in Caesar's deep scowl, but even he didn't twitch.

Finally, her question still not answered properly, Haley scoffed at them and unintentionally grabbed their immediate attention. She knew Caesar would help eventually, but she couldn't bring herself to wait. "Malcolm! Dad!" She heard screams from inside the warehouse just in time as she slapped her horse harshly on its behind and forced it to neigh in protest before it sped off. "Haley!" She heard Caesar calling after her before more gallops picked up behind her, forcing her to smile gratefully before she pulled her ride to its stop and flew from its back, pretty much jumping through the hatch of the warehouse and down the steps. "Where are you guys?" She called, already running in some random direction on instinct and only lucky that she was heading the right way when Ellie called out to her. Leaning over the edge of the control room's platform, she could see Alex and the older woman peering up at her, like specks in the darkness. "What happened?" Haley asked hurriedly, worry swelling in her heart – like always, a bad feeling grew inside of her.

"We don't know." Alex breathed shakily, speaking to Haley for the first time since they met, "Dad won't—"

"I can't see Carver." A familiar voice cut him off from behind the wall of debris.

'They're behind that!?' Haley screeched inwardly, her alarmed eyes wandering over the barbed and scattered concrete boulders in terror. As if being called to her aid, however, a figure suddenly blurred up next to her and made her jump in surprise before she forced herself to focus and look his way – Rocket. Instantly, her shoulders unknotted and slacked, reassured. "Just the ape I need." She joked, her amused tone unintentionally causing the humans below to glance at each other with discrepancy, but luckily for their respect towards her, realization quickly struck Haley and made her face fall into dread. _"I can't see_ _ **Carver**_ _."_ She recalled Malcolm's words and cleared her throat uncomfortably, the memory of the man shooting Ash, Rocket's son, replaying in her mind as she studied him, his unreadable face wandering over the debris, unaware of her stare. "Maybe…" She offered unsurely and skimmed over the apes behind her for an alternative – how he made it inside, Haley wasn't sure, but she quickly thought how Luca was even stronger and perfect for the job, only to remember his size and the cramped space in which Ellie and her step-son were already squished, "Uhm…"

 _"Want to help."_ Rocket interrupted, his flailing arms quickly halting her, even if his tensed posture and fury-filled demeanor told her otherwise as he clambered down the ladder to the humans. Haley and Caesar's eyes met for just a second, clear worry in their depths. Both of them knew Rocket wouldn't kill Carver, and it wasn't about them not being sure about the vice versa, but the situation just felt wrong. And so, Haley just shook her head to her friend with a helpless smile before she watched, almost proud, as Rocket and Ash – because who else – dug through the rubble. _Maybe_ , she thought, _if Rocket could save the human who hurt his son, though he was clearly forcing himself to do the right thing, then she could get over the uneasiness that was growing between her and her mate – just maybe._

* * *

 **Can you guys believe I am on the 30** **th** **chapter in LESS than a month!? (OoO) This is insane. And some of you have stuck with me the entire way! I love you all so much! You're the sweetest things, I swear.**


	31. Fragile Friendships and Trust

Rocket wasn't the smartest ape – almost everyone knew that much. That was why the troop went to Caesar or Maurice for answers instead of to him, the king's second: it was not just because of the other two's positions. Haley, however, respected the old bonobo more than most, maybe even more than she did Maurice, because, as soon as Caesar accepted and welcomed her, the "human female," to the village, Rocket did so unconditionally, unlike the others who simply followed commands and tolerated her. Of course, Cornelia and Maurice did the same, but Haley had the justified suspicion that they would have accepted her either way. Blue Eyes, Luca, Ash, and a few others do trust her now, but they only warmed up to her over time. Not only that, but it was Rocket, on his own, who decided to permit her outside the village and him who instructed her to shoot the bear near the entrance, which proved to the colony that she could become a hunter, unlike the other females. She regarded the ape as a strange uncle if nothing else and this consideration only grew each day, especially this day. Wise with the years he acceded Caesar, Rocket forced his pride and hatred aside and saved Carver, the human male who had shot his son. His retracted, skull-like nose remained furrowed with unattractive wrinkles that clearly said he partly regretted his decision, but still Haley felt proud of him – she was not that strong or loyal.

With a needlessly harsh and uncaring touch, Haley wrapped a bandage around Carver's scratched shin like Ellie instructed her to do, not blinking as the smeared blood on parts of his skin stained her fingertips. It might have been needless, she thought, but every time he flinched, she felt more satisfied, and by the looks Ellie was sending her, she knew the woman knew what she was doing. She still stood by the fact that she didn't want to help him at all, but she knew Ellie had to check on the others, so the choice to walk away wasn't tempting enough.

Before, it took close to an hour before Rocket and Ash found Carver underneath the rubble and, after another half an hour of getting him out of the warehouse, they all grouped next to the river to make sure everyone was unscathed or at least alive. Haley would never admit it out loud, but she thought it was pure luck that allowed them to survive, silently cursing Carver for having as much as he did. Yes, she really was nothing like Rocket. Drearily, she wondered, _did Koba rub off on her a bit too much_ , but only to interrupt herself with the startling realization that she didn't want him to rub off on her – _so why does she love him?_

"Surprised you know how to do this much." Carver's scoff tore through Haley's thoughts, earning him a sideways look while she worked, though she was relieved that his burning glare finally spared the top of her head, "Thought you're just as disgustingly primitive as the apes."

Haley didn't flinch under his insults, nor did she show any reaction, but as she shifted her eyes back onto her hands and tied the ends of the bandage on his leg, she tied the knot with a purposeful, unsympathetic, and cruel tug that made him buck forward with a pained grunt before he scowled at her. "All done." She merely sang and stood, not paying enough attention to see Foster smirking her way, proud of her for getting back at Carver. Haley was almost excited to be able to join Malcolm and Caesar's undoubtedly stiff and boring conversation if it meant she didn't have to be around the ghastly man anymore. Nevertheless, before the chance arrived, a gentle and calming chuckle grabbed her attention, practically forcing her to turn around. Immediately, her lips broke into a gentle and soft smile that she thought she lost years ago – the sight of Cornelius standing on Alex's lap, discretely supported by the young man's hand, and of him innocently playing with Ellie's fingers made Haley's heart swell with warmth. The days where she slept in Maurice's arms and felt herself melt into the giant orangutan's caring embrace didn't compare with the feeling that overwhelmed her, slowly making her eyes creep up onto Caesar, who still stood by the horses while he watched the scene uneasily, as one would expect from a father. For a while, she wondered, _did the same memory flash in his thoughts as the one in hers_?

Haley thought back to the night she first spotted Caesar in her neighbor's dormer – so young, so small, the both of them – and remembered how curious he was about her hairless skin, flat face, and pointy nose when she walked into his home, never having seen a young human other than the ones he could see from behind a glass barrier, running pass his house. Of course, he was no longer an infant at the time, but in the sense of how much he knew about the outside world, he was. That was why she visited him every week after that, a strange crave born inside of her to show him more, tell him more, teach him more, and Will didn't seem to mind. 'Will _…_ ' she remembered, her face saddening, but as if sensing her blackening heart, Caesar's eyes suddenly met hers – in only a second, her face lit up again. In one look, she knew he was thinking of the same memory as her, his own eyes glossing with a familiar anguish despite his usual frown. They just stared at each other for some time in a silent conversation, unaware of Malcolm looking between them curiously, looking almost bewildered by how they watched each other. But those moments of contentment that anyone prays for only lasts brief moments at a time, and like always, the train-wreck had to follow, almost like when Ray, a young orangutan, fought another ape for the last fruit after the colony had a blissful meal.

It was Blue Eyes' apish scream that finally bit through the calm air like a gorilla and made Haley jump in alarm as he blurred pass her. She had no time to process what had happened before the racking of a shotgun sent a chill down her spine, which forced routine to overtake her immediately. In swift and impossibly quick movements, she pulled the small armory from her back and aimed her bow and arrow Carver's way – she'd never admit it, but she was oddly grateful for the situation, because the need to shoot Carver has been eating at her for long enough that it physically hurt.

The barrel of Carver's weapon hurried moved from Blue Eyes to Haley just as Caesar halted from charging the human male to protect his son and gibbered in relief, Haley barely noticing his movement behind her focus. Only when Haley saw Cornelius climbing up his older brother's side in terror and hugging around his chest like armor, almost flattening completely, and only after shifting her eyes between them and the gun in front of her did she realize what had happened. The thought of Cornelius discovering Carver's secret was almost ironic to her in a way, given that no ape on the council thought to look, but her leer only deepened at the thought of him attacking the infant, her hand pulling more viciously on her bow's string until it left a faint squeak in the air under the strain. Reassuring her faintly, Haley watched Blue Eyes circle around her back and shuffle to behind his father, trying to get Cornelius out of danger, and watched Caesar as he walked over and ripped the shotgun from Carver's grasp.

It had taken some insisting from the other humans in Carver's group for him not to shoot Haley where she stood – where she threatened him by arrow's point – but he also knew all-too-well how good her aim was; he recalled how she nearly took Malcolm's foot off to stop them from reaching Ash on the day they discovered the apes and the apes discovered them.

"Said no guns." Caesar grunted out angrily, his breathing heavy with rage, before he aimed the ghastly thing at the humans – Haley knew he would never use it, given his hatred of it, but still she couldn't help but feel triumphant as he pointed it at each one of them and made them flinch back in fear. She took a moment to think how strange it looked in an ape's hand. Through it all, however, she kept her aim on Carver, as well as her murderous look, knowing his type of character well enough to know he was vengeful enough to try something. "Please, don't." She heard the others plead desperately behind her, but still she didn't move, knowing they were speaking to Caesar, not her – they clearly didn't know Carver's choice to bring a gun, so they probably didn't care at the moment what she did to him. That is, she hoped it was clear, or else her species was already starting to cloud her judgment.

"Human leave now!" Came the inevitable and deep bark from Caesar behind her, the sound even shaking her to the bone, and, in doing so, granted her permission to disappointingly back away from her target, reluctantly lowering her aim. But Carver just had to say the last word.

"You know, there were people who killed others at some point, claiming that apes and the virus was sent by God." He growled Haley to a stop, oblivious that Haley was there for it all, and ignored Foster's warning for him to shut up if he knew what was good for him, "Guess you're one of them, huh – choosing apes over your own kind? Got some delirious attachment or fascination with them or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Haley stated simply, her tone almost frighteningly calm, and glanced behind her to the apes as they mounted the horses, slipping her arrow into its place on her back in the meanwhile, "One of them is my mate – my husband – in fact." No surprise, every single human froze, though Carver's face instantly broke into disgust while the others still seemed to process her words. Unknowingly, Malcolm assumed something about her statement that was just funny in every sense of the word – he thought her mate was Caesar.

"You're joking." Carver gagged, his pale face scrunching up like he wanted to throw up, but he somehow knew she was serious, "That's… what the hell is wrong with you?" He ignored Haley's darkening gaze, "Got some disturbing fetish for animals?" He ignored her tightening fists as well, "Or maybe you're just deeply messed up from the virus—"

If only he could also ignore the sight of a bow suddenly blinding him with a slap. Haley wasn't sure if it was his insult to her friends, his insults to her relationship with Koba, or the fact that he knew nothing of any of it – nothing of the fact that Koba took advantage of her – but she suddenly backhanded him with the side of her wooden weapon with a furious growl, sending him stumbling until he tripped back over a stump and crashed into the river's pebbles, grabbing his cut and bleeding cheek in a stupor. "You're the reason I hate humans." She breathed down at him, her nose pulled up as if his scent even revolted her, before she glanced to the other humans who were looking to her in dismay, keeping watch of her while she eventually made her way back to the horses as well. The other apes didn't say a word, feeling a compulsion not to do so, and merely led the way back to the village, leaving the humans behind – though they were all surprised by Haley and Koba's peculiar relationship in the beginning, none of them seemed to understand Carver's reaction. Still, Caesar and Maurice exchanged their usual look – maybe it was time Maurice finally broke routine and spoke to her.

* * *

 **Just a quick thank you to Reader-chan for defending my story to Jedi Alex Colbent in the reviews (Sorry, Jedi Alex Colbent, I would've thanked her or him privately, but whoever this is, he or she doesn't have an account.). You're the sweetest thing and it warmed my heart so gosh-darn much! To everyone else who defended me offline, too: you're forever loved. ^^**


	32. Helsinki Condition

The tension in the air was suffocating Haley as she rode back to the village with the troop, her fingers holding her horse's lead with an agonizing strength, her nails threatening to cut into her palms. Despite the fact that she knew Carver lashed out at her relationship with an ape for the pure sake of causing exactly that, she felt nauseated as she unwillingly mulled over his words and allowed them to eat at her conscience, because she knew he was right – the day that Koba first ravaged her against her will, she knew not just his actions but the entire scenario was wrong, and every time she rediscovered the aftereffects of his strength, a few hidden and nasty scars on her torso and back, this knowing only grew more clear. And yet, she couldn't imagine stepping away, nor speaking up about it, the mere thought tensing her muscles in trepidation of what may happen to her – in fact, it sent an odd trickle of fear down her spine, but of whom? Or better yet, of _what_?

Lament glossed Haley's bright brown eyes to a filthy shade of mud when they fell on the backs of Caesar and his son, guilt suddenly striking at her and making her slow her pace, the apes merely parting and passing her to follow their leader without a pause. The group seemed in an odd haste when she slowed to a stop, the distance between her and the council members growing with every passing moment, but despite the fact that their shrinking forms lacerated her heart, she didn't budge from her spot while her horse stomped in protest, the result of her little experiment the exact same as the one she expected; like she was never there, the gap where she once rode behind Blue Eyes, his father, and his father's second filled with another ape, erasing her absence without a second's pause. Again, she wondered what she feared so much: was it the fact that she wormed her way into the village by a dilution so fragile it can be shattered as easily as the glass of a light bulb, like how a chimp once did when he accidentally crushed an abandoned one under his foot in the woods, or was it the fact that her only place was by Koba's side, a place so agonizing that she had to pretend it was something real for two years, despite the fact that his first touch still haunted her and granted her with numerous sleepless nights. Or maybe, was it Koba himself that she feared? The last chimpanzee passed her as she bit into her lip, a question lurking up on her: is it even possible to fear someone and also love them? For her sake, she hoped it wasn't and that only love lived in her, but like always, another clever mind quickly picked up on her distress, though his touch to her shoulder only made her hop on her saddleless horse with a yelp.

No surprise, Haley immediately knew who it was and glared his way, silently commanding Maurice to stop sneaking up on her, oblivious that it was the old orangutan's subtle way of testing her reactions, which only caused his worry to swell over the past two years when he saw her jumpy behavior growing worse. _"Sill tired?"_ He signed and motioned to her fidgeting horse before he continued forward, forcing her to follow if she didn't wish to ignore his question, nor her horse's clear impatience, so she did, no matter how annoyed by his tactics.

"You know I am." She grumbled when she caught up – Maurice felt the urge to point out she sounded a lot like ape whenever she grumbled in annoyance, but he had enough of a mind to stop himself.

"Nightmare?" He repeated her word in his deep and rumbling voice; he knew she was troubled by the human's insults, but he also knew the damage of whatever her nightmare was didn't have the chance to fade, and the small and reluctant nod he got only confirmed his suspicion, _"What was it about?"_ he asked carefully, _"Young apes feel better when they explain."_

Oddly enough, Haley didn't hesitate, the urge to talk about what she dreamt too strong, but her explanation was nothing like what he expected. Time and time again, Maurice heard tales from the younglings – all different, but all so much alike. In every one of their night terrors, they had a similar villain: a dark and menacing shape in a white cloak. Whether this silhouette was trying to throw the small apes into small spaces, like a raccoon's hollow or a fox's hole, or if it was poking them with some oddly shaped metal point, he knew it was caused by some older ape's tale of the human doctors in Gen-Sys, but Haley's nightmare was different – he had an odd suspicion that it scared him more than it did her.

"I was telling Koba that I loved him." She said like it was the smallest detail to her infamous nightmare, unaware of the fright it gave her friend the moment it was said, "But then, beyond my control, I drove a dagger into his heart and we changed, him turning into me and—" Haley suddenly halted when she realized Maurice had disappeared next to her and searched her surrounding left and right for a second before she spotted him a few feet behind, glued to a stop and a unreadable look of concern in his eye.

 _"Do you?"_ He asked suddenly, his movements oddly small for his long arms, and waited patiently for Haley to respond, but just as she opened her mouth to answer, he interrupted, _"Why?"_ By the fact that she dismissed her confession like it was nothing, he already knew she'd respond with something close to, 'of course,' or, 'obviously,' and that wasn't what he was looking for.

"What do you mean ' _why'_?" She asked, "He's my mate – I love him." She thought back to the fear she felt when she thought she might lose him and internally nodded at her explanation, "It's as simple as that."

 _"Haley loves Koba because he's her mate?"_

Haley immediately grew pale, her confidence dwindling and the reality of self-reproach glossing over her widening eyes – _not like that_ , she told herself. "Of course not—" She defended quickly, "—that's not what I meant."

 _"Why do you love Koba?"_ He repeated, but only got an annoyed tisk from the young woman, openly avoiding the subject, before she turned her horse back around and continued forward, compelling him to do the same when he saw the other apes disappearing into glimpses between the redwoods. "Haley." He grunted out, assuming she'd just pretend not to notice his hand speech if he kept it up, but quickly saw his theory betray him when she glanced his way hesitantly – unwittingly, she hoped he had an explanation for her, because she certainly didn't, _"Scared of Koba?"_

Haley flinched under his question, never having expected her previous thoughts to come to light so soon, but still she felt enough of the urge to shake her head – _no_ , she told herself, _she feared losing him, because losing him meant losing everything else with it._ The latter truth pushed vomit against the back of her throat, her fear of losing him out of love slowly growing hazy as it gained another cause – she didn't fear losing him, she feared losing everything he granted her: a place in the village, a small but comfortable respect from the apes, and the authority to get closer to Caesar. Cursing herself, she realized she was even worse than Carver – she really was one disgusting human being. Despite all reason, she thought that maybe, just maybe, Koba had every right to hurt her more. She certainly deserved it.

Watching Haley's face go from denial to disgust, and then to pain, made Maurice understandable uncomfortable, but still he made himself shrug his uneasiness away so the conversation could persist. Oddly enough, he recognized her face from when he was still in the circus. When he was a young orangutan, fresh to the scene, a human female was assigned to look after him, but her lack of taking care of herself showed itself in a few wrinkles and grey hairs, despite her young age. An older human male, a normal-looking gentleman, visited her on a weekly basis like routine and Maurice could do nothing but watch behind bars as a monster broke through the man's exterior and attacked the caretaker to the inch of death with absolutely no cause or reason. Maurice still can't understand how the male could yell at her for what she did wrong while he was pummeling and beating her, nor why she was the one apologizing and telling him she'll work harder, but what confused him more than anything was the love she spoke of during every other day of the week. Many times, she had a one-sided conversation with Maurice in private, one that he could not understand back then, even with the little sign he knew. She told him about how much she loved the human male, saying that she'll do better next time, and it scared him how much Haley's words reminded him of her.

 _"Not scared."_ He acknowledged her answer, though he obviously didn't believe it, " _Then could nightmare be because Koba was telling Caesar to fight humans?"_ He knew she didn't know, but for now, he knew he had to pretend like he did, and when she whisked around to stare at him in shock, he knew he was right, _"…not know?"_ For now, he told himself, he'd play dumb – to an ape who was dumbed by nature for years, it felt extremely degrading, but if he could help his friend in doing so, it was worth it.

Haley shook her head again and glared at the apes ahead. Deep down, she realized she must have known Koba was the one who was trying to tempt his leader to go to war, but the fact that she didn't want to believe it set a fire to her rage, towards herself and her mate, her jaw clenching painfully, things that didn't go unseen by the keen eyes next to her. _"I know Haley didn't want to go to war, just like Caesar."_ He continued carefully, grabbing her attention again, _"And even if she says she loves Koba, just be careful which ape's example you decides to follow, because Haley, Caesar's friend, could get lost along the way."_

* * *

 ** _There we go! Sorry for the silence yesterday and the day before that, but I didn't have any motivation to write. Also, thank you guys for all the sweet support against that guy – I love you all so much! See? That is why I encourage you guys' reviews so much; each one of them keeps my heart swelling with joy, which makes me so much more excited to keep writing. ^^ Also, a quick apology for this chapter to those who love Koba and Haley's relationship. I know, I know, it's my story, but still, I know some of you really love the idea of those two together._**

 ** _Another thing:_ I need some advice on an idea I have for War Technicalities. (I know it's my story, but I wanna know what you all think.) I am tempted to split the story at some point, almost like creating an alternate timeline for it in another story, and that story will be a Luca x Human!OC. I don't know why, but the idea of Haley actually starting to fall for her friend, Luca, while she was, at first, in love with his king gives me goosebumps (SPOILER: he, of course, would've liked her from the start) and it'll be completely different from what I have in mind for this fic.**


	33. Which Ape

(If you've read the new chapter on A Gentle Touch, don't worry, you're not paranoid if you see the obvious similarities to this one. This chapter _starts_ the exact same, in fact. They drift in different directions near the end, however - this chapter officially marks the split of the time-lines.)

Like the typical Maurice, the orangutan had to get the last word in, but despite herself, Haley hoped for more, and something less vague than what he had told her. Nevertheless, her wishes went unheard and only silence loomed across the troop as they returned home without any more interruptions.

 _"—Haley, Caesar's friend, could get lost along the way."_

Over and over again, his words repeated themselves like a broken record in the young woman's ear, but, like a child who's confused by her parent's Shakespearian quote or the restaurant's fortune cookie, Haley couldn't understand what he meant. Blissfully ignorant, she touched her face with great interest, trying to feel some trigger to Maurice's hint on how she was changing. Naturally, she knew she has changed quite a bit, the burning sun and passing years have taken care of that, but she was growing, so change should be expected, so what was his point then – did he mean to say she changed in personality or soul, or maybe in spirit and beliefs? Of course not, she concluded – she hasn't changed at all. Again and again, she kept denying her intuition's search for the truth, and only a high-pitched screech clawing at her ears was enough to snap her out of her thoughts, the sound startling enough to make her fall the rest of the way down her horse as she was about to get off. Through Maurice's distracting and amused gibbers at her clumsiness, Haley took nearly no time at all before she saw the source of the sound dangling from Caesar's home about the village, waving to grab his attention in case her bellowing didn't. She heard Maurice grow silent as soon as he saw what she did, and while they watched their king rush up the spiral to his home, Haley felt her stomach turn – just like the rest of the troop, Haley knew from the midwife's alarming sound that she was not the bringing of good news.

And so, with Koba still not returned from his supposed hunt, Haley never went back to her own home and simply sat with the orangutan by the school, her anxious eyes permanently glued to the tree house. She still felt something was off about Koba's leaving, and she still wondered what Maurice's words meant, but her worry never wavered, nor did it allow other thoughts to bother her, though she never left to go see if Cornelia was alright either. Like Maurice knew, and like Haley knew Koba most likely assume the opposite to, it was not because of some hatred towards the queen ape that Haley didn't go see her, but rather the opposite. _She will go visit later, when Cornelia's better_ , she decided – she knew the female ape would hate Haley seeing her in such a condition. Despite the atmosphere, Haley felt her lips pull into a sad smile at the thought; she could see why Caesar fell for Cornelia: she was stubborn, strong-willed, and always stood for what she believed, no matter what anyone else said.

Still, the fleeting moment of affection quickly shattered when a familiar uproar broke out at the village gates once again, the sound quickly setting Haley's teeth at edge. After almost no time at all, the same image unfolded in front of her: Malcolm shoved into everyone's line of sight like he was being put on trial. However, her scowl quickly faltered when her eyes flickered over his appearance – even from afar, she could see that he was in no worse state than when she left him at the river; in fact, he was standing tall on his feet, unlike the last time where he was dragged through the mud and kept of his knees. Bewildered, Haley sent Luca behind him a surprised and questioning look, which went unacknowledged when the large gorilla only grunted and looked away. Again, her thoughts were rendered irrelevant when something interrupted, but this time alarm bubbled up her throat, the sight of Rocket getting ready to go alert Caesar sending her shooting to her feet, Maurice's warning coo going unnoticed. "Wait!" Haley called to the chimp in a whisper as quickly as she could, and to her delight, she was able to stop him before he was able to steal Caesar from his ill wife – she knew Caesar would have felt a duty to his people and would have wanted to speak with Malcolm, and she knew Cornelia would have allowed him to do so, neither being something Haley would allow. Yet, when Rocket froze and gave Haley a look that demanded a much-needed explanation, her explanation went lost to her; instead, she simply kept her eyes on him with a silent plea flickering in their depths. She couldn't let him alarm Caesar; even the king of apes shouldn't leave his wife in that condition. No one could've been more surprised than she, however, when she saw Rocket's tense muscles slack under his nearly fur-less skin and he glanced to Malcolm with a defeated look. Without words, Haley somehow knew he understood, and somehow knew permission was given for her to do as she pleased. Though, as she made her way over to the human male, she needed to force herself to ignore the smoldering glares from the apes around her, even though her gaze appeared no different towards the older man.

"I need to talk to Caesar!" Malcolm insisted immediately, and although Haley almost wanted to commend him on his uncanny ability to jump right to the point, his sudden exclamation made her eyes darken at his daringness. Still, she could see the strength and determination in Malcolm's eyes, the one she knew bought Caesar's approval the day he arrived – it was the look that told the king of apes exactly how much Malcolm would do to protect his people when it's necessary.

This didn't matter.

"You can't." Haley spat venomously through the thick silence around her, but still nodded for the Gorilla Guards to ease back, which they did with one or two reluctant steps back. "He said no guns – that was his only condition." Haley explained, "You knew that and you broke it, so, seeing as we don't have a door, feel free to hit yourself on your way out."

"Carver's just an idiot!" He merely continued before attempting a quick step to his side, one that Haley countered with ease, "Please, will you just let me talk to him?" Haley wasn't sure if it was his tone or his choice of words, but they somehow made her eyes narrow suspiciously – _he couldn't, could he?_

"Like I said, you can't." She threw back carefully, skillfully structuring her sentence like a hook and rod so she could fish for the exact response she was looking for, "He's tending to his mate; she's ill." As if summoned by a medical term, Ellie was suddenly shoved into the picture a few feet behind her husband – she must have followed him – but it was Malcolm's look of dismay and confusion that captured Haley's attention instead. In just that one look, she knew she was right.

"But aren't…" He spoke carefully, though he unknowingly made Haley's heart clench and her blood run cold in horror – she never expected him to speak out about- "You said… I thought you were Caesar's mate?" Just for a moment – a single second – there was a pause in the air around them, everyone frozen while Haley's face grew beet red in shock and embarrassment, but time soon had to tick forward. It was almost as if the troop needed a moment to process Malcolm's words or to concur with whoever was next to them that they heard correctly, but as soon as the scenario processed, outrage screamed across the clearing in terrifying screeches and hoots. Even through his concern for the paralyzed woman, however, Maurice felt a tad bit amused by Malcolm's assumption, not at all surprised with how familiar the two are – though, this amusement quickly dwindled with every minute that the mob grew more out of control. Luckily, Haley wasn't unaffected – in fact, fury and frustration could physically be seen boiling to life inside of her, and finally, she had enough, her blush long-since faded away.

"Shut up!" She snapped at them over her shoulder, and to her own shock, the colony actually listened – some type of involuntary response, she gathered – and allowed her to circle back to Malcolm, just in time to see him relax after the fright the exclamations gave him, "He's our leader, so of course he's not my mate; though, you've had a run-in with the ape that is my mate."

"Please, Haley." Ellie quickly intervened and openly changed the subject, even though Malcolm seemed more curious about Haley's love life than anything else, "We need to talk to Caesar." Without pause, Haley wanted to deny their pleas again, but the desperation in her voice set the hairs on the back of Haley's neck on end. Forgetting that she had no power in the village, she felt torn between allowing them to go see Caesar or not, her jaw clenching while she bit back a lazy answer. Of course, she already knew at the river that they were clueless to Carver's impulses, and so, she knew they could be trusted, but they were human, so could they really be trusted or was it just her human mind giving them leeway. And so, as if searching for answers in the crowd, Haley glanced around her, studying one ape's face and them another, and in no time at all, her earthy orbs landed on a pair of tiny green spheres – Maurice.

"— _just be careful which ape's example you decide to follow—"_

 _Maybe,_ she wondered…

Of course, she already knew what Koba would do: he'd not only deny their offer, but he'd toss a spear at their backs as they were leaving, so what about Caesar? Would he allow them into the village again if it wasn't his son that was attacked, given that it wasn't them who caused it, or would he send them away? Would he remember how he struggled to keep his people safe and think about how the humans are trying to do the same thing? Would he think about the potential danger his rejection would cause for the village – his village – or would it not matter to him? And, whether it's the latter or the first, will she follow him… or her mate?

Eyes flickering away from Maurice's stare, his knowing look making it clear that he knew exactly what she was thinking, she looked back to Malcolm and Ellie, and their nervous looks made her throat grow dry. This was their last hope, she recalled suddenly. Honestly, what was she supposed to do – she knew Koba would have her head if he ever found out that she even thought about this, but still she knew exactly what Caesar would do and what she wanted to do, both the same thing. Yes, she knew the king of apes was engulfed by his own anger, still steaming after the incident at the river, but if it hadn't had been his son, she knew he'd still waver in sending them away, and then there was a nagging suspicion that told her it was necessary to make the three of them meet again – Malcolm, Caesar… and Ellie.

 _'Ellie_ she thought with realization so close to the surface of her mind but never seeming to brake the barrier of subconscious to conscious – still, she knew the woman was her reason for wanting them to pass. And usually, her intuitions were frighteningly accurate.

And so, even though she knew hell will rain down on her for it, Haley lowered her head in defeat, and slowly – shamefully slow – she stepped out of their way, never meeting their gaze. Hesitantly, she signed for Rocket to lead the two to Caesar's home, but no surprise, even her friend paused in doubt _"Trust me… please…"_ She continued saying in the hand language that the other humans could not understand and felt a relieved sigh brush pass her lips when Rocket forced himself forward and did as asked. Only when he already led them halfway up the spiral to the tree house, Haley's worried eyes following them closely, did furious and appalled gibbers start to build through the quiet – she was a human, so she had no right to decide what they should do – and who other than Koba's close friend, Grey, to speak out against her. After all, everyone knew the chimp shared views almost identical to Koba's, and so, the limp with which he stomped towards her with was the most predictable thing that day; not that it counts for much, given all the day's twist and turns. _"Koba's mate—"_ He signed with his apish bark, _"—not Caesar's second!"_

Unlike the cowering he wanted, however, only a furious and almost apish hiss was tossed back at him, his body involuntarily jumping back when Haley ducked at him, as if daring him to attack. She was already hurt with Malcolm's mistake and furious with the fact that Koba was going to be angry with her later, so she really didn't need to hear his disapproval over the matter – no one's, actually. And so, when he only kept his distance, almost looking disturbed by her sudden warning, Haley felt satisfied, just in time for exhaustion to overtake her again. Dragging her feet back to the hill beside the school, Haley slouched next to the Orangutan and drew a deep, calming breath, more grateful than ever that he decided to keep his comments to himself. _When will the day get easier_ she prayed to know.

 **Sorry for the long wait, but here you guys go! Trust me, I've only been busy. Just ask the heathens on the PotA chat I am a part of; I barely have time to chat! ( )**


	34. Practice Makes Perfect

The temptation to go back to her hut and sleep was strong for Haley, but after shutting her eyes on Maurice's shoulder for a few minutes, she told herself she was filled with enough strength to follow a group of apes out the village, still ignoring the fact that the orangutan was watching over her like a mother hawk, terrified that she'd get herself killed after he saw her wobble to her feet. Honestly, Haley wasn't sure if she decided to go with them because she wanted to help the humans fix the dam or because she didn't want to be in the village when Koba returned from his hunt – being tired enough to snap at Grey was one thing, but afterwards, when her actions truly sank in, terror swelled in her heart, trembling at how Koba might react. She knew it took a lot for him to lash out at her, but after the trouble at the riverbank as well, she knew he'd not just be on edge, he'd definitely explode, so she pretty much pleaded for Caesar to allow her to go with. She had to force her overwhelming relief not to show when he reluctantly agree, him hiding the fact that he was afraid to have her and the rest of his family around the humans after the incident with Carver.

With one final jump, Haley leapt through the edge of the trees and crashed against a floor of pebbles by the riverbank, her thick-skinned, bare feet unbothered by the sharp impact after all the damage they have gone through, but still sensitive enough to feel the ground shake as the old orangutan crashed next to her.

She watched with apprehension as the humans and the other council members emerged from the woods and made their way to the dam, only a few chosen apes following behind the horses. Apparently, after Ellie helped Cornelia with "human medicine," Caesar allowed them to stay for one more day to fix the dam, granting his people's help to quicken to process, but Haley immediately felt a nervous knot growing in her stomach when she had seen Blue Eyes storming from the tree house, him not even bothering to glance her way when she called after him. And then, when Caesar only asked the minimum apes to follow him, she knew he wasn't too confident about the decision either, the worry flickering in his gold-flecked eyes and the deepening frown on his brow only increasing her concern. Despite her being the one with a lack of sleep, Caesar looked almost older from his exhaustion. Nevertheless, after giving Maurice a reassuring look for the uncountable time that day when she saw he was still watching her, she simply followed the others to the warehouse and stiffly climbed inside. The farther she went through the hatch, the more she could feel an unexplained nausea eating at her, and when she finally took the last step and moved aside for the others, she felt as if she was going to throw up.

Only when Malcolm unwittingly grabbed her attention moments later did she realize why she was so uncomfortable with the idea of returning there, her torn eyes following him atop the platform as he bowed down and picked the familiar notebook from the floor in the corner. She watched, her mouth painfully dry, as he paged through the book, but then, having felt her gaze burning into him, the man's eyes flickered to her and compelled her to stiffen before quickly looking away, cursing herself for being so careless with her stare. Lowering her head, she thought about what she realized: she was uneasy about going back there because she knew something about the place made her feel so much more human, her mind wired to the machines around her like a second nature; her mind was genetically programmed to be drawn to her surroundings since generation after generation of her family have worked with computers and mathematics. Her father, a pilot, was a natural with any type of technology, and her mother became a military strategist after spending years learning mathematical equations and patterns – _maybe that was why she could understand the notes_ , she thought, but quickly dismissed the idea with a shake of her head. Nonetheless, her denial went pointless by the fact that Ellie and her husband exchanged looks after she saw the odd exchange between him and Haley.

"Haley?" Ellie called and apologized to the ape she was instructing with a task before leaving him to move over to the wild girl, a private nickname she used in her thought, "I was wondering if you could help me and Malcolm with some more… technical things rather than just carrying heavy objects around?"

Haley only narrowed her eyes at her old doctor and didn't answer.

"Elizabeth told me you used to be good at understanding math and science – or really anything along those lines?" Malcolm interjected next to them before opening the book for Haley to read, a proud look glossing over his brown eyes, "You read this, didn't you? You understood it?"

 _Clever man_ , Haley immediately thought, knowing he had to conclude that from only the interested and conflicted look she had watched him with earlier, but then shook her head in denial. "Only some," she admitted and glanced to Caesar on the other platform, just in time to see him pause in his attempt to help another ape, clearly eavesdropping, "Other things… confused me."

"How much is 'some' exactly?"

Haley hesitated, eyes still on her old friend, but then looked back to the married couple in front of her. "Two thirds," she theorized, "not all."

"Still, two thirds is more than I thought you would." Ellie admitted, granting her a suspicious look from Haley and forcing her to explain, "I mentioned to Malcolm on the way here that you might be able to help – despite what you may be thinking, Haley, these notes aren't simple scribbles, they're advanced equations, some not even having anything to do with the hydroelectricity. It must have belonged to an engineer who worked here. Sure, not all of them are complicated, which would probably be the ones you understood."

Haley was taken aback immediately, looking between the two humans with utter bewilderment. 'Advanced equations,' she thought in disbelief, but unlike what was to expected, the terror she felt bubbling inside of her was not from their words, but rather from the colony's possible reaction. Carefully, she studied the others to see who overheard the conversation, feeling more separated from the troop than ever before, but shockingly, she could only see the leader watching her, his green eyes narrowed with an odd combination of trepidation and a disconnection behind his usual glower. Still, Ellie continued speaking and grabbed Haley's divided attention. "We just need your help to figure some things out and to set some setting when we're in a hurry on the other side of the room." She heard the woman tell her, but her eyes kept glued to her friend, as if studying him for advice or the answer, but she felt her stomach jerk when she saw him nod, her jaw and shoulders slacking in surprise instantly. Having seen her reaction, Malcolm and Ellie finally follower her eyes and saw Caesar turning and limping away to help others, both a bit confused.

"Alright," Haley hummed helplessly, making them circle back around, "Alright, I'll help."

"Thank you." Ellie smiled halfheartedly, hearing the unwillingness in Haley's voice, but quickly ignored that fact when her eyes fell on the girl's bear arms. Ellie wasn't sure if it was old habit or not, but when she felt the cold air nipping at her cheeks, she shrugged her one jacket from her other and handed it to Haley without a word before walking off to go do more work, only Malcolm staying behind to give Haley some instructions. Obviously unsure, Haley stared at the thick piece of clothing for a while, but then, in defeat and with an exasperated sigh, she pulled it on and enveloped herself with the comforting warmth that Ellie's body left behind, oblivious to Caesar's intense gaze still watching her.

The reason he pushed Haley to help the humans with their science was because he could still remember how she enthused over strange numbers when he was a young ape, her small hands gliding through the air whenever she explained some scientific pictures in her book with too much enthusiasm. Many times, she told him about the stacks and stacks of textbooks she _borrowed_ from her dad's old "College Memories" box, something humans use to teach themselves things when their professors weren't around. Though he could understand some of the images, most of the drawn shapes and lines she showed him made no sense at the time, but the eagerness she had when she tried explaining them was something he craved to see again. He knew he had a duty to his people and shouldn't show one member too much attention compared to another, especially not one who wasn't on the council, but the growing concern for his friend was starting to even bother him at night. The dark circles around her eyes were growing clearer, her body was growing tenser, and she was always on her nerves, jumping at the slightest of touches – it was strange.

Oddly enough, Ellie's reason for approaching Haley over the matter was similar. Ellie could still remember those times where Haley had to be kept in the hospital for days on end so doctors could keep an eye on her vitals – sometimes she couldn't even leave her bed – and what stuck Ellie as odd at the time were the heaps of discarded books piling around Haley's bed at a grown-up pace, something she apparently just did to pass the time quicker. Back then, Ellie already knew the girl was clever, cleverer than most, and when she snuck a glance to the intimidating book titles, she thought Haley would surely grow to be some great inventor, scientist, or something in that type of field. Strange how cruel life can be sometimes, isn't it?

However, Ellie didn't know that Haley only sped up the time so she could leave the hospital sooner and visit Caesar.

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 **I am so happy to hear you guys were worried about me. Well... kinda. I'm flattered, but also really sorry that I made you guys worry! I sincerely apologize! Anyways, here is another chapter! I'm actually glad I was finally able to reach this point; it felt like I was never going to get this far. You guys and all your support allowed me to, however, and gave me the motivation I needed. LOVE YOU GUYS!**


	35. Used To It

Hours turned to minutes when Haley finally relaxed and got into her work, following the simple instructions of Ellie and Malcolm while also figuring a few things out on her own and fixing what she could – it wasn't long before she forgot her issues with helping them, just at the most horrendous time possible.

"Thirty-six units," Haley read from the notebook, scribbling the number down in her terrible, child-like handwriting before a loud crash made her body jump in surprise, the book flapping over her head as a result before falling behind her somewhere. She assumed it was just another ape dropping some of the equipment by accident, but when the echoing clang repeated again and again, she finally spun around in alarm, just in time to pale at the sight of Koba jumping further down the pipes before he crashed against the bottom platform. Compelled by fear, Haley felt herself stepping back, sneaking in between Ellie and Foster to hide away from her mate, but it was rendered futile when his dark green eyes bore into hers, her throat growing dry instantly. Time stood still as he studied her and she could see his fury burning stronger as his gaze wandered between her and the other humans surrounding her, making her gulp from the tension.

 _"Where is Caesar?"_ She watched him sign to Rocket beside him without breaking his gaze away from her, and once he saw the chimp pointing to the opposite end of the room, he finally stomped up the platform to her.

Haley whimpered in pain when he grabbed her thin wrist without restraint, her bones complaining under the pressure, but couldn't do anything as she was jerked away from the group and sent stumbling back down the steps after him. "Koba, let go!" She hissed under her breath and pulled against him, trying to free herself, but his grasp was too strong and the ache only grew worse from her fight – she knew immediately that Grey told him about her outburst. Behind her, Ellie, Foster, and Kemp inched forward, looking to each other for some kind of permission to help, but none of them had the courage to speak out, feeling as if they had no right to interfere. Rocket, however, was a part of the colony and soon had enough of watching Koba dragging his female away like some insignificant mule. "Koba," Haley heard her friend grunt out as a warning behind her, reaching to grab her arm and pull her back, but her rescue soon meant nothing when the fuming bonobo shoved Alex from his path and sent the young man crashing against the steel flooring. Alas, the struggle became a public spectacle for the apes and humans both and forced the room to quiet, Koba slowly circling around to the boy, making Haley's heart grow heavy in terror, but before she had a chance to stop him and before she barely got the chance to officially rip her hand free in the confusion, she was suddenly flung back behind Koba and sent tumbling against the floor with a few metallic crashes.

"No, no, please, don't!" Malcolm intervened and quickly rushed pass the tossed woman to between his son and the ape, resisting the urge to help her instead. Yet, Koba didn't seem to care; seeming even more enraged, he stepped closer to the father and son with a snarl, only halting once Maurice stepped in his way.

"Where Caesar!?" Koba's scream tore through Haley's ears as she sat herself up and made her wobble from its impact, groaning when her knees stung behind new scratches, "Want Caesar!" He continued to screech, the sound forcing Haley to tense in fear the second time, but before she could collapse from disorientation, a pair of worried and beady green eyes slid into view and allowed her to relax. _"Haley alright?"_ Rocket signed carefully and only felt partially reassured when Haley sluggishly nodded in return, but still it was enough for him to move to her side, slide an arm around her back, and lift her to her feet. Haley couldn't have been more grateful to Ellie at that moment – she was pretty sure her jacket was what broke her fall.

"Caesar!" Koba screamed finally, but his urgency and rage went ignored when the wanted figure skulked slowly into the room, everyone falling deathly quiet right away. Haley could feel the anger vibrating from the king of apes in return for his brother's insolence and it only seemed to grow worse when he saw Haley, his eyes flickering to Rocket's supporting arm around her middle. In a hurry, Haley stepped away from the almost hairless chimp, hoping to hide the abuse she's just endured, but when his frown deepened, she knew it was too late. Nevertheless, Koba seemed to ignore it.

"Humans attack your sons, insult my mate; you let them stay –" He growled out, stepping closer to intimidate his leader, though it didn't come close to working with his short stature, "—put apes in danger."

Haley didn't like where this was going; the longer it went on, the more her stomach seemed to clench. She glanced to Blue Eyes for answers, the young ape having followed her mate to the dam, but he kept his eyes on the confrontation instead, and so, she did the same, her attention continuously shifting between her oldest friend and the ape he was towering over. ' _Please_ ,' she pleaded silently, ' _don't let this be happening_ – _don't make me choose again._ '

"Caesar loved humans more… than apes!" Koba kept it up, however, her prayers going unheard by whatever cruel being is in control of her life, but still she begged for it to end, which it didn't. "Caesar loves humans more than his sons!" Koba snapped viciously, shoving Caesar harshly against his chest, as if trying to break the illusion of Caesar being untouchable.

Haley saw it – Caesar fought for control, his crave to not attack another ape strong, but his gaze soon fell on his son behind Koba and his endurance faltered, his breathing growing heavy and harsh. His authority was challenged and set his teeth on edge, but the pain and sense of betrayal that hang on Blue Eyes' shoulders were what hit him the hardest.

Haley instinctively ducked when Caesar's scream pierced the air, the sound frighteningly human, but unlike the rest, she found herself frozen in place when he tackled her mate to the ground, everyone else scurrying away. She felt Rocket attempt to pull her back, but she was petrified in place. Every time Caesar's fists pounded against Koba's chest or Koba's against his, she flinched like it was aimed at her. Her heart pounded with each blow, booming in her ears to make up for the haze her surroundings morphed into, not a single sound registering with her. The scent of iron was the only thing she could bring herself to notice when the red liquid began to leak across Koba's forehead and nozzle. She felt the need to intervene – it was achingly powerful – but who should she protect? Should she help Koba or should she help Caesar? One was her mate and the other was the ape she loved; one was the ape who raped her and the other was the one she can never have. "Stop it," She breathed, watching with gaping eyes as Caesar straddled Koba and choked the bonobo, slamming his back against the floor time and time again – and again, and again, and again.

"Stop it!"

Finally, Haley had enough, and before she could stop herself, she lunged forward and slammed her side against Caesar's shoulder, forcefully tearing him from Koba. From the weight of her own body, she stumbled forward with the chimp, but while he crashed onto the rubble at the end of the warehouse, she somehow managed to find her ground and gasp for the breath that had been caught in her throat. "Koba!" She realized aloud, however, and sped to the bonobo's wide, wrapping her arm around his own in order to help him to his feet.

The world buzzed around Koba when he was unwilling pulled up from the flooring, the room spinning uncontrollably no matter where he looked, but despite it all and his wobbling limbs, the arm that hoisted him cleared through the haze. First came the filthy nails and ruined nail-beds that he struggled to recognize, then came the ruined skin of the hand they were attached to, but then came the most recognizing thing of all: the jacket. Instantly, rage burned through his veins, and before he could hesitate, he threw his elbow back, spun around, and punched against the human who dared to touch him, sending her flying backwards.

The air was instantly knocked from Haley's lungs from the blow, her ribs luckily only bruised, and forced her to yelp before she felt herself soaring back like she weighed nothing. Her surroundings blurred like the scene from the window of a car, and it felt as if it would last forever, but then, like an anticlimactic stop of a roller-coaster, she finally collided with the platform railing a few feet away, the side of her head connecting perfectly with one of the steel bars in a sickening clang. Her body collapsed, limb, her vision blurring, and the sting in her head erased her senses completely – again, all she could hear was the familiar pounding, this time in her skull, while it felt as if her temples swelled like balloons, a strange pressure building.

Despite the fact that he was tossed by her only the second earlier, Caesar's face immediately fell with concern at the sight of Haley whimpering meekly on the floor at the other side of the room, holding her head in shaky hands, and quickly rushed pass Koba to crouch by her shoulder and snake his hand behind her neck, raising her and resting her back on his lap. She whined when her rest on the ground was interrupted, but hearing her name called beside her in the hollow and rumbling voice, she quickly calmed – despite the lack of clarity, she knew it couldn't be anyone but Maurice. Unlike the other council members who moved to help the bleeding girl, Koba was stilled by his own actions once he realized what he did, his hands actually shaking in horror and guilt. The sight of blonde hair turning crimson turned even the bonobo and his steel stomach nauseous, the deep gash on the side of her head growing harder to see with each passing second, and when her eyes begun to return to life and look around sluggishly, his usual glare wavered with uncharacteristic remorse.

The sudden chill in the air warmed the instant Haley's vision begun to clear, Caesar's worried face the first thing she saw before she stiffly turned her head to Maurice, Luca, and Rocket next to her, trying to make sure she didn't assume wrong, and then to Blue Eyes, the surroundings clearing up for the final few shades to reveal his horrified and worried face. Groaning softly, Haley attempted to sit up higher and show everyone she was fine, but as the others expected, she only dropped right back down, which was exactly why they didn't bother to stop her from being stupid. But then, suddenly, strength became more than enough, it seemed – in front of her, she caught Koba attempting to step closer, but fear made her gasp and flinch into the warmth next to her, grasping for the fur on Caesar's chest like a scared child.

"Don't touch me!" She barked hoarsely, but with enough force to make her mate stop and retreat back a step. Through the red that slowly stained her lashes and colored the side of her face, Haley could see an odd sense of defeat washing over Koba, but it didn't matter anymore – she felt more defeated that he ever could. "I shouldn't be used to this." Haley sighed, realization finally dawning on her, and reached for her head with some of her recovered strength so she could feel the extent of the damage, even if only to flinch and moan when the briefest of touch felt like a blade to the brain. Haley paused as Ellie blocked her view from Koba and come over to look over her wound, but as soon as Ellie was out of the way, Haley pleaded, not daring to meet his eye, "Please… go."

The bonobo hesitated and only kept staring for a few moments longer, but it took nearly no time at all for the sight of Haley laying in Caesar's lap and Caesar not even looking away from her to dismiss Koba to set his teeth on edge. Eventually, rendered small under his female's warning, he whisked around and stormed off, Grey following close behind, not daring to mention his satisfaction with Haley's condition.

"She should be okay – the railing mostly cut her skin than anything else." Ellie interrupted, sending Caesar a reassuring look, "But you should keep her awake for a few hours. Come on, I can patch her up – help me get her to her feet."

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 **Sorry, this chapter may be terrible quality, but I was kind in a hurry; I'll proofread it again tomorrow. Hope you all still enjoy this one, because I had a lot of fun writing it! Don't forget to leave those lovely comments and I will update soon. ^^**


	36. Family To Apes

_Wince_ – "Stop that."

 _Wince_ – "Hold Still."

 _Wince_ – "Enough, Haley!"

"I'm sorry if I have the urge to move away from agony!" Haley snapped and got ready to slap Ellie's hand away from the side of her head, but only to get her wrist caught in a powerful grasp midway. Luckily, the limb was still raw in bruises, so she jumped and whimpered and compelled the ape to let ago almost immediately—or maybe, not so luckily. Without a moment's pause or a single care, however, Rocket cupped the side of her face instead and locked her head in place, giving Ellie the chance to carry on while Haley pointlessly tried to move away, only flinching into his palm. Skillfully, Ellie stitched the gash on Haley's temple with a sterilized needle, her face long-since rubbed clean of blood and the side of her head shaved bald for access, the other side of her head the same for symmetry, and the Mohawk of blonde dreads braided loosely down her head to spare the newly-cleaned locks from getting stained again.

Other than the bonobo and the doctor, most of the others have gone back to work an hour ago, but only after Haley tried to push them back to their posts – that is, she weakly pushed against them before she wobbled and stumbled in a daze, not as composed as she was now. The only others that refused to leave were Caesar and Luca, but the latter was instructed to do so by the first, though Haley knew Luca would've stayed anyway. Haley hated it, being reduced to a hospital patient yet again, but by the hand of a bonobo, she didn't have much of a choice but to stay there and could only scowl at him. Of course, she still loved the old ape like a friend you can forgive no matter how mad they make you, but she hasn't gotten that far yet.

Finally, the comforting snip of a scissor sounded next to her ear and cued Rocket to finally let go, leaving her to message her jaw for relief. She felt the temptation to feel the doctor's work, but she already knew it wasn't a good idea, especially now that she could reopen the laceration and make it worse.

"I have to help Malcolm," Ellie explained as she packed her supplies up, and gave Haley's patched wound another quick look before shuffling off, "Remember, just stay awake for as long as possible, and when you fall asleep, make sure someone wakes you up every two hours."

"Yeah." Haley scoffed as Ellie walked away, swiftly shrugging the bloodied jacket from her shoulders and discarding it on the floor like last week's garbage – whatever gratefulness she felt toward Ellie for the clothing was long gone. The site of the thing made the image of Koba's scowl tear through her thoughts, making her tremble fear. In front of the stairs on which she was seated, however, Caesar watched her with a thick and scolding glower, fury burning in his gold-flecked eyes. The other council members took no time at all to see his rage and to watch him with knowing unease, and never have they felt as grateful as when the ape king dismissed them with a grunt and nod.

"'Shouldn't be used to it.'" Caesar repeated her words in a growl, glare darkening when he saw her stiffen, "You said that – why?"

Sudden tension overwhelmed the warehouse, the others seemingly unfazed as they went about their business, and Haley felt her throat grow dry and heavy under its pressure. She gulped and tried to wash down the ghastly lump in her esophagus, but was only left to shift uncomfortably beneath her friend's accusing gaze. "That's really none of your business." She grumbled out and lowered her head, every single word painful, and thankfully, the hoarse crack in her voice made the hurt obvious to the ape. "Haley," He warned again, something she realized he was doing more and more, and cautiously hooked his rubbery and coarse finger under her chin, forcing her to look to the side so he could study the aftermath of her confrontation with Koba, "Koba hurt you before?"

Shockingly, Haley grew silent from his question, actually thinking about answering him honestly, and let her eyes flicker between his to see if he truly was worried about her, which she could see easily, but it took nearly no time at all before she sighed inwardly and decided against the truth, pulling out of his grasp and immediately craving the warm touch again. "No." She lied flat-out, taking a moment to note how she was lying more to Caesar every time she lied less to Koba, and forced herself back to her feet, wincing for a second when the resulting breeze stung her incision, "Please, he was just overreacting – he'll be good when he calmed down, so drop it, okay?" She couldn't believe she was actually defending Koba – it sickened her – but she knew Caesar defending her would make things so much worse; finally, she admitted it to herself: she was terrified at Koba. Thinking back to how she was when she was a kid, always standing up for herself no matter what, she felt pathetic.

"Haley," Caesar tried again, the wrinkles around his eyes loosening as he turned from leader to friend like those rare occasions he sometimes shared with the human female, but this time she stopped him before he ever got the chance. "I'm heading back to the village." She intervened with a ghostly smile and passed by, adjusting the braid carefully on her head while escaping back through the hatch. She could feel Caesar's troubled eyes following her, but she knew he wouldn't cause issues after she asked him not to – that is, she hoped that was the case. Only out of sight did she finally hunch over and grab her head, the pounding still there, no matter how composed she made herself seem. She could feel her wound ache under the sudden grab, but still she continued massaging it in an attempt to get rid of the endless stabbing. Ellie told her that it was mostly a cut than anything else, but the impact officially did her fatigue in – was she really supposed to keep awake in her condition?

The pain amplified immediately when her body jumped at the feeling of an arm wrapping around her middle, but as soon as the support braced her, she relaxed into the faceless ape and felt it dwindling again. _"I'm… sorry."_ She saw hands motioning through the air in front of her, and only then did the pair of despairing blue eyes worm into her vision, her heart swelling with warmth fast. "It's alright." Haley hummed sincerely despite herself while Blue Eyes carried her towards the horses to hoist her onto a beast and take her home, "I understand why you did it, but I do wonder why you're so against the humans… do you not see what I am?"

"Haley not human." Blue Eyes grunted and made Haley's heart fall under the assumption that he thought the same as Koba, but only the second after, she was halted in shock, her breath caught in her throat as delight washed over her. Of course, she had seen his regret when Koba hurt her, but his words were too sincere to be an excuse:

 _Haley family._

Now how was she supposed to be mad after that? Instead, she could only chuckle – _smooth_ , she thought.

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 **It's late at night, this is cheesy, and I might rewrite this crap, but here you guys go! Enjoy. Remember to comment if you enjoyed it and to keep me going; if you didn't enjoy it, well... go ahead and vent so I know what to change.**


	37. The Use Of Truth

Haley was still dumbfounded by Blue Eyes' unexpectedly sweet and comforting words, even after he escorted her all the way back to the village, but as she sat with him on the fallen tree beside the rocky outcrop at the center of the fort, she realized he didn't deny the fact that she was human, like those he wanted his father to banish – he may be unaware, but he said she was family, a _human_ sibling. The notion sounded ridiculous to even her, and while she swayed weakly in her spot from exhaustion and wounded disorientation and he kept catching her when she threatened to fall asleep, the ridiculousness amplified. "You say I am family," She spoke up and wasn't surprised when Blue Eyes gave her a confused look – after all, it had been more than an hour since he brought it up – compelling her to pause for him to catch up, his puzzled frown fading as an indication that he knew what she was referring to.

 _"—and friend."_ He confirmed and added in the hand language Maurice had taught him when he was a child. That, Haley knew all too well he acknowledged her as – since she arrived at the village, Ash and Blue Eyes were the two apes she enjoyed spending her time with, even if only to have some random fun. The blue eyed ape is mischievous and disobedient and Haley pitied Caesar in that regard, and she had a suspicion that his reason for approaching her was initially to rebel against the others, but now she treasured their friendship immensely. Ash was still his closest companion, but she couldn't blame him for it – Ash was just as dear to her as Rocket, both impossibly understanding, kind, and moral, even if the youngest was a bit troublesome as well.

"I'm still human." She explained; there was no distain or anger in her voice, just the expression of fact and the desperation for him to understand, though his returning frown said otherwise, "I am human and you consider me a friend, not to mention family, so how come you can't even consider than other humans could be like me, too? Koba has a hatred for all humans and crave for their death, and although you mindlessly agree, you were worried when he hurt me, weren't you?" He gibbered, irritated, and looked away to avoid the truth, but still she carried on, dropping to a whisper when she saw apes starting to return through the gates, "Why did you accept me and why are Ellie, Malcolm, Foster, and Kemp so different?" She hesitated, "Honestly, I am asking because I need to know more than you do..." She was tired of trying to figure out where she belonged most: with humans or with apes.

Still, her confession only bought her a concerned look from the prince, making her divert her gaze hastily. Reality was, she was also terrified for the young ape, and seeing Koba skulk through the village ahead of her with scowls following him closely after everyone heard about what happened in the warehouse, it made her all the more worried. She knew Koba was manipulating Blue Eyes on every chance he seemed to get, enforcing a hatred of the humans into the young ape's head – it was obvious after the way Blue Eyes had been behaving for the last few days and Haley was growing desperate to stop it. Whether Koba did it deliberately or not, she wasn't sure, but it didn't matter. She needed to put an end to it, and when she spotted Caesar entering the village and heading over, she knew she had to do it quickly, especially with an inkling growing inside her that things are only going to get worse tomorrow. "Tell me," She continued, eyes following the ape king closely to make sure she doesn't speak within earshot, "why do you think Koba hurt me?"

 _"Was angry,"_ Blue Eyes signed immediately and briskly, determined to make her see his reasons – he didn't want Haley to hate Koba forever, not with how guilty the bonobo looked when he saw what he did, _"Thought you were another human – thought you were going to hurt him like they did back in human village – was afraid."_ To him, everything he said made perfect sense and satisfied him, and he knew they would have persuaded him to recognize Koba's point of view, but a sudden lack of confidence fell on him when her expressionless and unreadable face didn't change – only a dead stare studied his father as the ape approached them in what felt like a snail-like pace.

"Then why did he hurt me many times before?"

A suddenly rush of cold air hit Blue Eyes' lungs, his breath blocked in his throat behind a rough and scratchy lump, his body frozen stock-still. _He couldn't have heard right_ , he tried convincing with himself, but as he stared at his friend, his eyes flickering over her shaved temples and the braid of blonde locks that marked a line down the middle of her head, he found himself wondering if the stitched scar on the other side of his view was as bad as he remembers and if Koba could have really done something like that to her before. And Haley could clearly see what was going through his head when she glanced his way; it wasn't surprising – Blue Eyes seemed to have a blind respect for her mate.

"I'm with him because he raped me, Blue." She confessed with a tactless nickname and openly cringed, the words leaving a bitter and sickening taste on her tongue after being said for the first time, as if reality only dawned on her then. Though, she didn't have much time to process or regret her admission before she interrupted. "And if you tell your father this, I will murder you without hesitance. That's the one truth I can't allow him to know." She snarled under her breath – she knew she'd never be able to hurt him, but the tremble he gave made it clear that he at least understood her need for secrecy, making her calm again, even if just to tremble herself under a sudden rage vibrating off her friend. Looking to her side again, she saw the chimp's face contorted with burning fury, his eyes drilling into Koba in front of him, but quickly she placed a tender touch to his shoulder and his tensed body slacked, his glower falling to watch her with a new sense of sympathy and worry – she wanted to mention how his scowl made him resemble his father like a mirror, but she knew it wasn't the time. "I didn't tell you this to make you feel sorry for me, nor to hate Koba." She explained curtly, glimpsing at Caesar's still-growing figure as it grew dangerously close, "I just need you to think of that the next time you think Koba is without flaw."

Blue Eyes hesitated, anger still strong in the depth of his soul, but despite the urge to pummel his father's close friend, if he still was that, and his fist clenching painfully, he nodded stiffly against his will, just in time for his father to reach them, both of them thinking he seems unsettled. "Son," He grunted out warily, and in that single word, Blue Eyes knew what he was there to talk about – the look Caesar gave him was the same one as in the warehouse—and the fact that Haley shifted away, feeling out of place, only succeeded in proving his suspicion. He must be there to talk about the fact that he was allowing the humans to work again, and to discuss the fact that Blue Eyes was against it.

Making Caesar bemused for a few seconds, Blue Eyes looked away to study his human friend for a while, eyes narrowing as he tried to sense if she was telling the truth. _Was Koba really capable of such a thing, even towards his own mate_ , he wondered. Somehow, he knew Haley wouldn't lie, and that fact made Blue Eyes uneasy. He knew Haley would never harm an ape, she'd kill herself before doing such a thing, so he's always loathed all humans except for her, but Koba seemed to crave for her hurt as well… so was the bonobo's hate really as blind as his father was trying to tell him it was?

Blue Eyes could still not understand everything Caesar did in the humans' defense, but he will surely open himself to the words of Haley and the ape king a lot more now, not wanting to be as blind as Koba supposedly is. Shutting his eyes, he took a breath before peering back up at Caesar. _"It alright, father."_ He signed with obvious uncertainty, but was immediately comforted by the hint of a satisfied smile pulling at Caesar's blunt and dry lips, though his gold-flecked eyes moved to Haley. Blue Eyes knew his father must have realized Haley had spoken to him and explained things, and his urge to tell him what she said pushed like bile against his throat, but with it came her warning and the persuasion to resist the pull – he prefers living longer.

"Need… place… to sleep." A deep and rumbly voice suddenly interrupted and grabbed everyone's attention, Haley's most of all. Everyone could see how her face lit up like a child's when she saw Maurice. _"Can sleep with me; can wake Haley every two hours like Ellie said to."_ Maurice offered with an explanation, even if they all knew it was only because she shouldn't live with Koba in his hut for the next few days, if ever again. _"Grabbed coat already."_ He added before holding up the familiar bear-skin pelt, which Haley took without a second's pause. _To the rescue as always_ , Haley thought with overwhelming gratitude while pulling the large piece of clothing back around her body – it was still a bit damp, but she could live with that, mainly because of the growing chill in the darkening sky, the warm sun seemingly abandoning her. "Thank you, Maurice." She thanked as an acceptance of his kind proposal. Despite her fear for the first night without Koba in two years, she was almost excited to be able to snuggle back into Maurice's warmth and long, orange hair, just like her first few weeks in the village. No embrace is a comforting as his fatherly one.

Making herself comfortable on the large stump again, she motioned for the orangutan to join her, patting the wood surface opposite her from Blue Eyes, and he took his place without complaint – it was his spot most of the time anyway. Still, while everyone prepared for the night's meal, Maurice's eyes kept glancing to Haley's newest blemish, until finally, he said something that drew an unwillful and oddly-timed fit of laughter from the female:

 _Hair looks good._

At least he was able to hear her laugh again, even if it was because she found his comment amusing – it felt like months since she bellowed with the pleasant sound. He didn't quite understand what made his words so funny, though, because he meant it: the style made her appear to be the warrior he knew she was, despite her submission to Koba.

* * *

 **Particularly proud of this one, but** **who knows, you guys might not feel the same, so sorry if that's the case. Either way, remember to comment again! The last two chapters got so much heat that I literally squalled, so thank you all so much! And they were all so sweet... Seriously, you are all the sweetest things in the world! LOVE YOU AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL~!**


	38. Danger Lurking

Haley hadn't realized exactly how used she got to sleeping next to Koba with her body curled up against his warm and surprisingly soft embrace until that inevitable moment, two hours later, where Maurice had to wake her. Expecting to see the half-blind chimp and his signature scar, her eyes creaked open with an odd twinkle of delight, despite how he treats her, and immediately clouded when the sight of the concerned orangutan wormed its way into her hazy vision instead. Even though she assured him that she's fine when his face tightened with more worry from her expression of disappointment, the faint and yearning "Koba" that had already escaped her when she woke made it pointless, and her turning away to hide her face and go back to sleep didn't help. But of course, Maurice could only gibber calmingly and watch her grow slack against his large stomach, luckily exhausted enough that her troubles didn't hinder her rest. For hours after, this repeated, and repeated, and repeated, until finally, she couldn't drift off anymore.

Unlike the day before, Haley couldn't immerse herself in the repair of the dam and found herself constantly glancing up at the entrance to the warehouse, both in hope and trepidation of Koba possibly storming through it. She was terrified by the fact that she wanted to forget what he had done, even though the constant stinging against her skull and her lightheadedness was a permanent reminder. She wasn't sure what compelled her to think the way she did, or if it was truly because she supposedly loves the ape, but she couldn't fight the want for his presence pass the fear for him – or maybe that was why she needed him around – maybe she wanted to be his mate because she feared what he'd do to her if she wasn't bound to him. Even when the building shook and made her to grab the railing for support, she suspected it was Koba rampaging towards her and snapped her head up in alarm. Only when Malcolm's name pierced through her surroundings minutes later did she open the possibility of another cause.

In confusion, Haley watched as Ellie and Malcolm ran pass her to the exit, where Foster and Kemp were waiting for them, practically buzzing with excitement, and eventually she followed after them, along with the other apes, even Caesar looking positively riddled with curiosity. Haley hadn't even realized how long they've been working until she stepped into the night and hugged coat tighter to her person, blocking her body from the chilly air. Jogging up to Caesar's horse as he galloped with the others, she sent him a questioning look, to which he only frowned and shook his head, clearly just as uninformed as her. Nevertheless, he didn't hinder the humans' hike through the woods and merely followed, the silent shaking of the warehouse dimming out behind them, and soon enough, the cause for their rush came into view.

Haley froze immediately when the artificial light reflected off of her dark skin on the other side of the hill, her brown eyes dyeing to their childish honey-colored hue from the bright beams. Breath hitched in her throat as her gaze wandered over the crumbling 76 Gas Station that peeked out from between the trees, studying the nasty patches of moss and vines that stain its walls. A mixture of awe and uncertainty pooled in her stomach as the lights drilled into her eyes and made the night seem so much darker, the flickering light above the glass-door entrance making her uneasy, seeming as if it was struggling to stay alive with the new power. Haley was relieved – finally the humans were done and they could leave and allow her to fall back into her illusion – but in watching the neon lights pierce through the serenity, she couldn't help but agree with Koba. Things such as that, the building and its products, didn't belong in the woods, with its bright green plants and clear waters; unwittingly, the sight nauseated her with the memory of the city, where people had killed each other off like cattle and where places such as those were sucked dry by thieves and murderers. When in the fire of an apocalypse, people can so easily lean to insanity.

"Something… wrong?"

The overfamiliar grunt nearly sent Haley jumping from her skin in shock when it sounded above her head, but only then did she realize her hand was squeezing her coat by her heart with so much force that her fingers ached for release, her face contorted in either fear or in the pain of her grasp – she wasn't sure. Sighing softly, she shook her head and swung her arm back to her side, her white knuckles slowly gaining their color back. "I'm alright." Haley assured her old friend before finally following the others into the gas station's parking lot that was nearly non-existent below the thriving vegetation, while Caesar unconsciously led his horse after her, "I just wish that, in some strange way, things could have stayed as simple as when we were young."

Caesar was taken aback by her admittance, but as he looked around and searched the rusted metal, crumbling concrete, and struggling lights of the gas station, he couldn't help but agree. He would never dream to go back to his life if it meant the other apes would have to go back to theirs and if it meant he had to watch his father and only friend walk away again, but in some deep cavern of his heart, he had to wonder if life would've been simpler and more pacifistic if the Simian Flu had never been created and if he stayed up in the attic like Will had told him to do. But of course, he only had to remind himself of humanity's capacity for war before the outbreak and the notion shattered. Still, that didn't stop him from watching Haley with growing concern. His ape heart ached for her with such an extent that even he was worried about its reasons sometimes, but he knew better than to think of it. He only wanted his lighthearted and strong-willed friend to return soon – the sooner the better.

Only the gentle hum of an acoustic guitar and primitive drums were enough for Haley to break her eyes away from the building and break Caesar's off of her. The two gaped in disbelief as the familiar sound tickled their ears, looking around for its cause until they found Kemp dancing across the interior of the store and Foster whooping along with his joyous cheers outside, both moving along with the music. The sight immediately brought back those rare moments where she played her favorite songs for Caesar as a kid and the two of them swayed foolishly with the rhythm. Giggling despite herself, Haley gave Caesar a quick glance, and felt her heart titter and her body freeze when he smiled down at her, an amused twinkle in his gold-flecked eyes. For a while, they just watched each other in wordless reminisce while the other apes explored their surroundings and the humans rejoiced at the evidence of their success.

"It worked." Malcolm's voice interrupted before Haley could get completely lost in the ape's stare – too long it's been since she's seen him that calm. Haley knew Caesar had to be as relieved as her to know that the dam was fixed and that everything can finally return to normal. Still, the knowing look Malcolm sent her from having seen her and her leader's previous exchange made her more than just uncomfortable, it made her worried. That morning, both Malcolm and Ellie had voiced their conclusion about Koba being her mate, pointlessly mentioning their concern and horror over the fact, but he could never ignore the reality that he so easily accepted Caesar as her mate – and the silent discussions they had shared seconds before left him more confused. "At least, here it did." Malcolm continued, shifting his gaze back up to the ape who still sat comfortably atop the horse, "We'll know when we get back to the city."

Haley's stomach dropped immediately when Caesar turned back to her with a thoughtful look. Realization dawned and she felt her hairs stand on end, but despite her urge to shake her head at him as some silent plea not to do what she knew he wanted to do, he looked away again, looming over the adult human male in contemplation. Haley kicked herself, regretting her spineless body – she knew what he was considering was dangerous. _Koba_ , she breathed inwardly with trepidation, _Koba, Koba, Koba_ – _what if he already returned to the village_. She had been able to glimpse at his figure as he stormed out the village that morning, but she knew he wouldn't be able to stay away forever, and returning to a village with humans there, standing atop the cliff, gazing out onto city lights, he would explode. Whether he'd explode up at Caesar or her, she wasn't sure.

Nonetheless, she could only watch in dismay as the ape king reached through the barrier between species and shook the man's hand, "Trust."

Never before has her inkling for disaster been as strong as it was at that moment, but like always, she cowered back and locked her jaw. _Stop_ , she told herself, oblivious to what she could've prevented, _don't speak out of place and just keep quiet_. Her face fell when she finally admitted that Maurice was right:

 _What have I become?_

* * *

 **We all know what's in the next chapter... and trust me, I'm not looking forward to it either, but it had to happen eventually, right? Anyhoo~ hope you all enjoyed this chapter after the long wait. I'll try to update both A Gentle Touch and this fanfic tomorrow, but again, no promises.**


	39. Inevitability Part 1

Just like when they left that morning, the village was eerily peaceful and quiet upon everyone's return. Thought Haley could see heads turning at the sight of Caesar leading humans through the muddy plateau, no one gibbered, hooted, or screeched against it; Haley wasn't sure if it was because of their leader's presence or just because they've gotten unwillingly accustomed to having the bare-skinned creatures around. Whichever way, however, Haley seemed to be the most anxious of them all.

Out of earshot, she followed the others to the side of the cliff and watched as the ape king motioned over the woods, no-doubt showing the city lights to his newly-trusted friends, but Haley found herself otherwise distracted by her hut a few yards away. With careful and sharp eyes, she studied the collection of bark, leaves, and branches, looking for some sign of her mate, and found herself relaxing when she saw no life in the chasm of shadows, though it only left her wondering what Koba could be doing out so late. Growing faintly worried, her eyes narrowed, her gaze boring deeper into the darkness to see more of what laid behind it, but deep down she knew he wasn't there. Sighing to herself, she circled back to the flickering lights in the distance, just in time to follow Caesar's gaze back to his home above and to smile, relieved, at the sight of Cornelia on her feet with baby Cornelius snuggled up against her furry chest. Though, inevitably, Haley's heart fell, her rusty eyes following Caesar up the hill as he went to greet his wife and family, guilt swelling within her when she realize her crave to be in the female's place. Never before has she seen her old friend as soothed and swamped by solace as when his hand caressed Cornelia's furry cheek, as if he was checking to see if her healthy figure was truly there and not just an illusion.

Oblivious to the pair of burning jealous eyes watching her from the trees below and shifting between her and the loving sight above, Haley quickly diverted her eyes to prevent the growing hole in her heart from expanding. With lamented eyes, Haley searched across the village, looking unwillingly for someone she knew would hold her, even if just to achieve some good points from his leader again, but alas, she saw Blue Eyes gaping up at his parent instead. Before he had the chance to thaw back to reality, Haley quickly rushed over to him, worry once again enveloping her. "Blue Eyes," she called in a whisper, careful not to disrupt the calm atmosphere, and felt overwhelmingly flattered that he tore his gaze away from his parents to look at her, "Have you seen Koba?" Almost immediately, a look of irritation tore through the young ape's loving gaze, as if the name slipping from her lips was forbidden or wrong after he heard what Koba had done to her – and yet, the bright innocence in his blue eyes remained.

He shook his head. _"Haven't seen Koba since dawn."_ Blue Eyes signed unsure, knowing his answer wasn't exactly what she was looking for, but was quickly reassured by a thankful nod from his friend before she stood out of the way and allowed him to continue up to his father and mother, just as excited to see the female ape healthy again.

Watching Blue Eyes leave, Haley's worry grew – _so Koba really hasn't returned_. She wasn't sure if she was worried about what he could be up to or if she was worried about him, but, yet again, it didn't matter. In a sudden and unjustified rush, she forced her gaze away from the royal family and back onto the village, and allowed it to flicker over the humans by its edge before she fossicked for her mate. Inside the lonely void that had so unwelcomely formed in her heart a few minutes earlier, she felt a powerful and misdirected urge to talk with the bonobo, and maybe reason with him and make him see that she wasn't afraid of him, that she didn't want to lose him, and that she loved him more than she did his king – all of which were lies, but necessary, she knew. A promise they had made the night they became mates – the only promise – was to never lie to each other, but did she really have a choice – she reasoned with herself that she didn't. If things were really going to go back to normal, she needed her delusion back. That, she realized, was what she feared most of all to lose. She needed to be able to pretend again that she had somewhere in the village to belong, and if that was at Koba's side, so it will be. Still, that didn't change the fact that she couldn't seem to find the grumpy old ape anywhere, no matter who she asked for directions. For a moment, she thought she had found him, but it took only another second to see it was the hunched and unsteady silhouette of Grey instead. Oddly suspicious of his skulking, Haley watched Koba's second while he snuck out from behind the supporting beams of the wall around the village, but only shook her head, knowing it wasn't the time – she's always disliked the ape anyway, so it must've been that. Again, she continued searching around the village, shuffling from the stone outcrop at its center to Maurice's school and then back to her hut, peeking inside, but again, her search headed to result. Swallowing the sense of impending doom that weighed on her tongue, she stepped away from her home, and just in time for her inkling to be justified.

A single and ear-pitching pop suddenly pierced across the village and forced Haley to hunch forward with a gasp, her hand shooting to her chest and to the stab that pierced its middle without warning. Breath betrayed her as she froze, her body suddenly rigid and cold, and stopped a single puff of air to inhale or exhale from her lungs. ' _No_ ,' she thought in terror and misery, the pain pulsating and burning through her veins becoming agonizing and blinding. The gunshot was unmistakable and echoed across the sky like a drum of war, and for just a second, Haley thought it had been her who had been shot, the agony and disorientation all she needed as proof, but after she collapsed against the exterior of her hut and as she dared to gaze down at her aching chest, she could see through her hazy vision that not a single trickle of blood stained her clothes and hand. Only inside, she realized, did it feel as if she had been speared. But, instead of joy or comfort soaring through her, her stomach churned and she resisted the urge to gag.

The world silenced and slowed as grief suddenly enveloped her like a pit of sinking sand, suffocating her without the hint of mercy. 'No,' she thought again, this time screaming in horror, and whisked herself around despite her encouragement against it. As she had expected, there he still stood overhead, clutching his bleeding and torn chest without avail, and blood seeping pass his callus fingers, with his gold-flecked eyes spread in utter shock and dismay, which Haley could not understand pass his surprise of being shot. "Caesar!" Haley's voice roared across the village louder than a lion's and only then did everyone seem to process the sound of the gunshot, Cornelia's alarming screech following immediately after. Haley stood in her spot, caged in disbelief, still unable to comprehend that she wasn't dreaming the nauseating spectacle, but as the ape king staggered forward, her heavy limbs finally unlocked and allowed her to charge forward in a blind attempt to catch her friend when he finally tipped over the side of the cliff and plummeted towards the trees.

Powerful arms wrapped around her middle and bruised her ribs in a forceful stop before she could think to jump from the cliff after Caesar, their oddly gentle strength enough for Haley to recognize who had captured her. "Let go!" Haley screamed immediately, scratching and clawing at the balding skin for freedom, kicking vigorously at the mud below them. In pain, furious – lost: Harley couldn't describe how she felt when her heart tore from the sight. Tears flooded, burned, and washed Haley's filthy cheeks when she stopped fighting against Rocket's hold, slowly growing weak against him like she had done two years ago. _He couldn't be – he couldn't be – no, he couldn't be!_

"Caesar!" Haley wailed in sobs, as if her bellowing scream will somehow bring him back, which it didn't – it couldn't. _Please, don't leave me…_

 _...not here._

* * *

 **No need to tell me: I know how terrible cliffhangers are, but hay, it's a miracle I got this done today, so I hope you all enjoy it anyways! ^^ If not, feel free to tell me in the comments... or just keep giving me those flattering compliments - I won't mind whatsoever.**

 **Oh! And I've been wondering Estrella, when you say I am "ruining your childhood" (google translated), do you mean that as a term of endearment, or...? Cause I'm really starting to worry, seeing as you say that in each of your reviews. If it's that bad, I really think you shouldn't read anymore. I'm honestly not mad; I'm just worried for your childhood and what I'm doing to it, haha.**


	40. Inevitability Part 2

Once Haley completely numbed against Rocket with all her strength crushed beneath shock and horror, he finally allowed her to collapse on the ground so he could go do damage control, not thinking about the consequences his lack of presence could bring.

Like the crash after a sugar rush, Haley couldn't move from her knees, suddenly overwhelmed by exhaustion and tire. Though she discovered that she went unharmed under the fire of the gun, Haley could still feel something die inside of her, murdered by the death of the king of the apes, destroyed by the blow of what she had witnessed. Like a blanket of dread, the night's black weighed heavier than ever on Haley's shoulders and cruelly kept her down, not a hint of remorse there.

"Human. Gun." Blue Eyes' scream inevitably grabbed her attention and pulled her eyes away from the cliff's edge to the rocky outgrowth at the village's center on which he stood, but still she remained anchored where she sat. With the ape's furry figure darkened before the campfire's yellowish light, Haley's eyes had to narrowed to see it inside of its bright outline, but as the image unclouded and as the shape in Blue Eye's hand cleared, something foreign and unwelcomed sparked inside of her. With her eyes studying the ghastly weapon's metallic and undoubtedly cold surface with a growing scowl, Haley could feel her blood unwillingly boil under the fiery heat of rage, fists trembling at her sides. Under normal circumstances, Haley would have quipped about the fact that there was no other type of gun than a "human gun" but the chance escaped her as hate swelled in the newly opened space in her heart.

As if controlled like a puppet by the strings of wrath, Haley's body, on its own, spun around on its knees and whisked her own weapon off of her back and into aim, holding it tight against her chest and making the string shake under the strain of her pull – she didn't pause before she let go and sent the projectile zipping through the air, only to see it bury deep into the beam of the village's wall. Haley's vision clouded red as she searched pointlessly for the humans who were supposed to be standing in her arrow's path. Despite her efforts, however, she could barely glimpse at the group of bare-skinned targets as they fled through the village gates, the growing fire that framed their route going unseen by the blonde's focused scowl.

"Go! Get them!" Koba's deep and hoarse screech echoed overhead, but by that time, Haley already leapt over stones and branches in lead and swung from tree to tree after the humans. Bark and broken branches ripped through her palms while she moved without a cautious pause, not even wavering when the group split ahead of her. She didn't know who were in the group which she followed, but as she neared them with each swing, she didn't care. With a warrior's cry, Haley threw herself from the last tree in her wake and aimed her bow and arrow mid-air as she soared. No time for hesitance, she fired at her target before hugging her bow to her chest as she crashed to the mossy forest floor with a groan and tumbled to an eventual stop, her coat barely managing to protect her from the impact. Only the pained scream that sounded behind her was enough to tell her it was worth it.

With adrenalin born from nothing but her fixed temper, she pushed herself back to her bare, bruised feet with wobbling arms, and moved to pull her very last arrow from her quiver to aim it at Foster, who still lay, bleeding, on the ground, holding his punctured thigh in agony.

Before she had the chance to finish her work, Kemp interrupted and slammed into her side with all the force he could muster, sending her crashing back to the ground with a feminine yelp. He charged forward to tackle her down completely, but before he could touch her, she circle back around and backhanded him with her bow like she had done Carver only a few days prior. _Carver_ – Haley bared her teeth with a chilling growl as the name resurface in her thoughts, realization dawning that it had to be him who killed Caesar, and so, before Kemp could even clutch his burning cheek, she hurdled herself forward and jumped him, ramming his back against the stone ground below. Haley could hear the revolting crack as his head collided with earth, rendering him in a helpless daze while she pounded her fists at his face with in vicious frenzy, sending his head whipping back again, and again, and again, and again, his scull shattering against the solid surface below until he finally fell limb, that infamous last breath slipping from his lips.

Haley's arms immediately dropped at her sides when Kemp stopped fighting back, her chest rising and falling desperately while she caught her breath. Stumbling once or twice on her tired legs, Haley rose from her straggle on the man's lap, eyes never leaving the red-drenched spheres where his once were. Sluggishly, she nudged his side with her foot, but only saw his corpse wobble lifelessly. She had no time to process her kill when a grunt tickled her ears and forced her to turn around and witness the sight of Foster crawling without dignity or pride to the bow and arrow a few feet away from him, reaching for the weapon as if his life depended on it, terror evident in his eyes. Nevertheless, just as his fingertips grazed the wooden surface, he was left to observe while mutilated fingers picked it up instead, the single arrow aimed at him a second later.

Finally, Haley could feel the skin of her hands throbbing in pain when she grasped her weapon again, but she didn't blink or flinch and merely continued to leer down at the terrified man that she once revered. Too ready she was to put a hole in between his human eyes, and even when those brown eyes flickered to a bright blue, her arms didn't lower. "Out of the way, Blue Eyes." She hissed venomously, instead,

Crouched low between the humans, Caesar's eldest son peered up at Haley with fear of his own. He had not borne witness to the previous events, nor did he know what compelled him to do as he did, but as soon as he saw his father – his dead father's – friend readying to kill one of their human allies, he quickly got in the way. Despite the fact that it had been his family that was shattered only moments before, there were voices nagging at him, telling him to take a step back and clear his head; they were the voices of his father and, ironically, the seething woman in front of him. Lowering himself more, Blue Eyes hid Foster behind his own body while his brows furrowed with concern, not for the man, but for her. Fear for his friend's sanity inflated his ape heart as his big eyes flickered to the mangled corpse behind her. "Move!" She snapped down at him, but still he didn't dare to move, simply looking up at her with pleading eyes.

" _Father_ ," He signed cautiously, " _wouldn't want you to—"_

"Well, he's not here for you to be sure, is he!?" Haley cut him off with a scream, not conscious enough to be satisfied when he flinched back, but oddly enough, it was Haley who weakened at her own words, her shoulders slumping with grief, "He's…"

Blue Eyes only allowed himself to breathe when he saw the fire in her eyes finally cool to an icy sorrow, her glower fading. "He's…" She breathed again, but couldn't bring herself to say it – only in a last rush of anger, Haley aimed her arrow at the eyes that peeked over Blue Eyes' shoulder and croaked out, "He's gone because of a human!"

"Car-… ver…" He grunted out, and alas, only the sound of his voice seemed to be enough to make her rage dissipate, disbelief showing on her features while her arms collapsed, "No… human… the same." He added before returning to his hand language, _"You told me that – so did father. Wasn't Foster who did this—"_

Against her desire to ignore him, she knew he was right, so, releasing one last bellow of frustration, she tossed her weapon to the ground in defeat and dropped down next to it. "Damn you." She hissed under her breath, "You're not being fair." Blue Eyes knew almost as much as Maurice that using Caesar's words against her was the one way to pierce her stubborn nature, and now more than ever, the young ape didn't care – he already lost his father, he couldn't bear to lose any more of his family on the same night, even if just in personality. He couldn't allow Haley to kill Foster and lose what makes her, her.

Nonetheless, her calming and him succeeding didn't changed the situation of Foster's torn leg and murderous glare – though, deep down, Foster was already fighting the truth of self-protection and justified anger on her part.

 **There you guys go! Now to go stuff my face.**

 **Oh, and thank you, Estrella! I thought you meant it that way, but I wasn't sure, so thank you for clarifying!**


	41. Safe And Sound

The night seemed more eerie than all others as Haley gazed pass thick tree roots to watch apes of all shapes and sized scavenge Muir Woods underneath the moon-lit skies. Carefully, Haley skulked back into the darkness of the camouflaged pit at the tree's foot and redirected her focus on her task at hand – though, with great reluctance. Gnashing her teeth in anger, Haley harshly tied the ripped piece of cloth around Foster's leg to stop the bleeding, tying down the flesh in which her sharp arrow had once torn through, and watched with satisfaction as he winced, all while wishing she could just announce their hiding place to the apes outside so a few of them could storm inside and take him off her hands. That, or Ellie could show up and do a proper job, anything that would lead humans away for good. After having spent a few minutes below ground and out of sight, the irony of her predicament hasn't gone unnoticed; glancing behind her and to Blue Eyes, who still stood by the exit on watch, Haley wondered if he would stop her again if she tries to get rid of Foster, but she knew, despite him being the last one of the three of them who should, that he would, and so, she only grumbled incoherently.

"You killed Kemp." Foster announced finally, as if still trying to process it himself, but his words didn't have the impact he might've expected and only earned him a scowl.

"And you killed my friend." Haley spat with one final and unsympathetic tug on his makeshift bandage, more pleased than ever that he bucked in pain. She knew it wasn't him who had done it, but somewhere deep down she also knew she had to justify her kill. For as long as possible, she hoped life would remain in chaos and keep her from admitting what she had done. She wished it was Carver, instead, who met her attack – she wouldn't have given a single care if that was the case. Still, despite her own behavior and retaliation against him, Foster seemed almost disheartened by her words – he had forgotten how attached she was to the ape king. He was dying to know why.

A sudden gibber intervened and stopped him from asking about it, however, Haley flinching at the sound before she whisked around in alarm, just in time to see Blue Eyes silently calling for someone outside. Despite her previous wanting, Haley immediately rushed to the ape's side, latched onto his shoulders, and pulled him away from the exit. _"What are you thinking!?"_ She signed briskly and didn't give him chance to answer before she turned back to the hole of beaming moonlight. He tried to hoot for her attention, but she merely raised her hand quickly and signaled for him to shush. The ground outside crunched under searching steps, compelling Haley to gulp at the tension in her throat, and eventually, she creped forward, curiosity and inner quarry compelling her, but as soon as she peered through the thick bundle of tree roots, her eyes shot wide.

At the side of the hole, still resting on the ground, Foster fumbled through the pockets of his cargo pants and pulled out a blade for protection before he pressed himself deeper into the moist wall, his nerves growing tight in panic. If anyone found him there, he knew he was going to meet the same end as Kemp; he hadn't known the officer long, but he didn't need to know him to know that his end was a terrifying way to go. Yes, Blue Eyes protected Foster before, though he had no idea why, but he had brains enough to know that it won't work a second time – not against the entire troop. In a single night, his training in the military felt like nothing: he was no more than a sitting duck in there, which was a special present from Haley's enhanced archmanship, a quality Foster only knew what to call thanks to Alex's comic book. For the tenth time that night, he found himself praying that the others were alright. Soon enough, however, his breath hitched with fear for his own life instead, the sight of Haley slipping outside weighing heavy in his heart. He could hear a small, familiar, and kind exchange outside, though he couldn't make anything more out, but still felt justified enough to raise his shaking hand and pocket knife in front of him when footsteps skulked nearer. Only when a figure crawled inside, Haley following close behind, did he collapse against the ground with a relieved sigh, sluggishly slipping his weapon back into its place.

In a joyous reunion, Ash embraced his ape friend, relieved to see he hadn't been harmed by the humans; however, he was still in dismay after Haley told him with great opposition that they were actually protecting one of them. _"Don't know what happened; all knew Carver hate apes."_ Blue Eyes explained sullenly – it wasn't like he wanted to protect the humans above avenging his father, but he knew his father would want him to know everything before he acts, _"But father still trusted others – how this different?"_

Ash wasn't sure if he understood Blue Eyes' reasoning – Koba said to attack human village, which was where he was heading moments earlier, so that was what he thought he should do – but somehow, the annoyed scoff that Haley gave against his friend's words made him nod in agreement. Somehow, he knew Blue Eyes was right. _"Go tell others."_ Ash proposed with a small hoot, excited to put the sparked madness to an end before it grew to a flame more frightening than the one engulfing their village, but as he turned around to leave, Haley quickly blocked his way.

"Bad idea." Haley shook her head. Though she hated being there, she felt obligated to listen to the prince, as if Caesar inside of him burned strong, which it did: every word he said was like an unwelcomed reminder of her newly deceased love.

 _"Thought Haley would be by Koba's side faster than apes."_ Ash signed, unsure to a point of almost being curious to why she was even there, but unlike the explanation he was probing for, Haley froze at his observation while knowing blue eyes saddened behind him and out of sight. It was as if Haley only then realized that she should be with her mate, or at least be following his wishes, but unlike what he was seeing, it was terror that suddenly hit the woman – she could only imagine Koba's fury if he ever knew what she was doing, shakily trailing her fingers along the scar on her shaved temple to remind herself how he retaliated the last time. Swallowing her fear, however, she spoke with purpose, "He hurt me: I believe my blind respect for him went lost at that single blow."

"Hurt. Before." Blue Eyes added with a harsh grunt and without thinking, grabbing Ash's attention and not bothering to see Haley's alarmed face, _"Haley not willing mate—"_

Ignoring the raw dismay already clouding across their friend's face, Haley swiftly grabbed Blue Eyes' arm and tugged him away – unfortunately, they barely had enough room to stand up in, let alone to have a private conversation, but as long as it stopped him from signing, she didn't care. "Remember what I told you?" She warned under her breath, "I swear, if you say another word…"

 _"Didn't speak,"_ the little smartass pointed out, but only earned him an accusing glower.

"Fine. If you ever sign or speak the truth, I will kill you," She renegotiated, her newly unenthusiastic threat only amusing the ape despite the situation, and quickly recalled that she only told him not to tell Caesar, "no matter to who." Nevertheless, that didn't change the fact that Ash already had an inkling of what was going on.

Stepping closer, he grabbed the two's attention, even Foster's, who was still lying, completely confused, on the ground. _He really needed to learn sign_ , he told himself. _"Koba,"_ Ash began in a sorrowful pace, _"did he ra—"_

"Not the time." Haley interrupted, but it was more a matter of her not being ready to talk about it, so, if one looks at it that way, it really wasn't the time – not her time. "We should stay down here until everything cools down up top." She continued with a sigh and sat her tired body down as far from Foster as possible – she didn't trust herself around him, "Might as well get some rest, too." The apes looked to each other, silently pleading for the other to continue the conversation, one wanting to know the truth and the other wanting to tell it, but eventually they were defeated by reason and sat down as well, one placed close enough to the exit to watch for intruders. That, however, did not stop Ash's eyes from meeting Foster's for a moment before they skimmed the human male's wounded leg.

 _"What happened to him?"_ He signed carefully, by some means knowing that Haley didn't want to talk about that either, and indirectly making Foster give up trying to understand them and making him rest his head back for sleep. Blue Eyes tore his gaze from watch and onto the man, just to see if the wound was truly still there and that he did, in fact, witness his friend going berserk, but eventually he could only bow in the presence of reality and told Ash of what happened hours earlier.

 **Weak chapter, but hay, it's been forever since I've posted: I'm just happy my flu finally passed (which of course lasted my entire Fall Break) and that I could update! Hoozah! Also, thank you all for encouraging me to keep going and for being so patient with me! Btw, I totally just thought about putting Ash and Foster together in the future. No idea why, but lmao, I am so weird. The strange thoughts I get when writing worry me!**


	42. A Mending Heart

Having seen Haley disappear into one of the silent corners of the giant hollow, no one had spoken to her since Ash's arrival. And on the other end, the young chimp still craved to ask if his assumption was correct: if he was right in thinking that Haley accepting Koba as her mate wasn't so "accepting" after all. Then again, it might've been her distance that stopped him, or it could've been the story Blue Eyes had told him which frightened Ash into silence. In the hand-speech Blue Eyes and him were taught as children, he was told that, a few hours ago, in a fit of sorrow and rage, Haley had leapt through the trees after the other humans and tried to stop them from escaping. Allegedly, one of those very humans had killed Caesar, their king, and as their leader's closest friend, Haley reacted with a taboo towards her own species. After all, "ape no kill apes" is one of the apes' most treasured laws, right alongside "knowledge is power" and "apes together strong." So, imagining a human chasing after another and bludgering him to death was haunting. But that's what Haley did, splodges of crimson still stuck to her cheeks from bashing against Kemp's face, and her fingers still a faint shade of red, even after she tried cleaning them with the freezing water that dripped from the hollow's roof.

Ash was no stranger to death - in fact, no one in their village was - but what happened the previous night was different. He could recall the young apes that didn't make it through their first night of life and the elders who always had to sit down to rest but just couldn't get up one day. But never did any ape kill another living creature with their own hands if it wasn't for food, like what the human, Carver, did to Caesar, or like what Haley did to Kemp. He wondered what this change would bring them as he curled up into a tighter ball against the dirt wall in trepidation and shuddered at the memory of Koba's warrior cry. Like the rest of the troop, Ash was ready to follow Koba's demands without question, but after the strange wave of determined force dwindled inside him, his senses cleared and he calmed, growing more and more hesitant to leave their hiding spot and to do as asked, like a mindless animal. And the possible truth between Haley and Koba only made his hesitance grow.

She was his friend.

Suddenly, as if purposefully snuffing out the silence, the ground shook the three troop members into action. The walls, the floor, and the roof all rumbled viciously, dislodging small lumps of damp dirt from the ceiling. Foster gave an annoyed groan when he was woken by one of those very lumps crashing onto his head, but as soon as the warning sound reached his ears, he quickly padded down his shaved head and sat up the best he could, grabbing his clip knife from his pocket for protection. Despite their apish instincts, Blue Eyes and Ash kept as quiet as forest mice and glued their startled gazes to the morning sunlight shining through the entrance, praying it wasn't the troop looking for Foster, or maybe even looking for Haley. The fact that they knew apes wouldn't make such a sound didn't seem to matter to their anxiety.

Haley actually reacted in a combination of the three's. Slowly, carefully, silently, she pulled her arrow from its quiver and aimed it into the unknown ahead, her heart thundering loudly. It was the same arrow she had tried to shoot Foster with, and she was relieved she had taken a moment to retrieve it. Having finally calmed down, Haley managed to push her pain and anger aside for now, and so, she didn't feel the familiar crave for blood bubble in her throat when she recognized the man-made rumble. All she could think about was the fact that her deceased friend's son was with her, in danger, and maybe even stalked by the very person who shot his father. "Stay here." she whispered, glaring at each one of them in warning, and stealthily crouch-walked outside. Trying as best she could, she dodged the long roots that poked out of every surface, afraid it will somehow sound like an air horn if touched.

Haley couldn't recall a single time when she had ever creeped as silently as then, other than when she and Caesar used to play hide and scare, their own little invention. But of course, she cut her train of memory short, knowing no good would come of reminiscing. Left and right, Haley peeked outside to see if the rumbling was as close to them as it felt inside, but, for a moment, she got lost in the morning sunlight that peeked out from behind the tall trees. Last night, she hadn't even realized how far she chased the men, but in the daylight, she clearly recognized the area: it was close to the city. But other than that, she sighed in slight relief, the danger still a ways off. She crawled out.

"Haley?"

The sound of her name immediately set the hairs on Haley's neck on edge and compelled her to turn, dangerously close to letting the arrow fly in between the eyes of her doctor - Ellie. The woman was filthy, her face covered in sweat and dirt, and it almost perfectly camouflaged her between the redwood, but her clothing gave her away. Still, it took her revealing herself completely from behind the vegetation before Haley was entirely sure it was her. Immediately, Haley gasped and lowered her weapon, scared by the fact that she almost shot Ellie, but just as Ellie relaxed from the unsuspecting fright, Haley realized exactly why she was on edge and raised her bow once more, anger wrinkling her face. She couldn't trust their group right now - none of them.

"Wait, Haley, you-"

"If you're actually trying to tell me that I don't understand, I would choose my words more carefully!" Haley interrupted in a snap, pulling the line tighter.

"Please… Haley…" Ellie started slowly after a minute of thought, seeming just as careful as the wild girl warned her to be. Despite having the arrow aimed at her, however, Ellie appeared calm, no fear in her eyes. It was only when rustling sliced at the silence that she tensed and shot a startled look behind Haley. Haley, on the other hand, didn't jump, and only growled in anger, and for good reason. She didn't need to look behind her to know what had caused the sudden sound, both her ape friends worming out of the hollow. Luckily for them, just as she glanced over her shoulder to yell at them, the wall of vegetation Ellie came through suddenly separated in a crash. Haley paled whiter than paper when the mechanical beast revealed itself with that familiar rumble. She was so distracted by Ellie that she didn't even notice it coming closer. That must be why that other two came: to warn her. Was this Ellie's plan?

She didn't take time to consider everything before she hastily spun around and made to dash in the opposite direction for safety; meanwhile, pulling Blue Eyes with her and somehow maneuvered her weapon back onto her back and shoulder at the same time. She prayed Ash knew to follow. "Run!" She demanded, the sight of Caesar's plummeting body flashing in her mind, triggering absolute terror in her heart, "Faster! Get out of here!" She couldn't lose either of them too, especially not to the same man.

"Wait!" She could hear Ellie scream before she got far, "Haley, wait!"

It must've been something about the woman's tone - it had to be - because Haley halted when asked, even against all odds. She silently screamed at her body to run again, to get Blue Eyes to safety, but when she felt herself turning to Ellie, she screamed for it to move the other way instead. It didn't work. Instead, with all the hatred that can possibly be contained in her small body, she sneered at Ellie for an immediate explanation, keeping her iron grasp on Blue Eyes' wrist. As if cowering under her gaze, the old jeep skidded to a stop almost as suddenly as it arrived and swerved to the side so the driver and the passenger behind him could see the scene through the side window, instead of struggling to use the muddy and cracked windshield. Before Ellie could explain, he yelled from the driver's seat, "Ellie! Thank God!"

Anger quickly melted into confusion when Haley heard Malcolm, just enough for her grip on Blue Eyes to loosen, which was a great gift for the young ape, it seemed. Hooting excitedly without warning, making Haley's entire body stiffen, Blue Eyes took this opportunity to blur away from her and towards the vehicle. Haley had no idea what excited him, but she instinctively reached out to grab him again; unfortunately, whatever made him jump to action seemed to be of more important to the universe. She wondered if he was going to attack Malcolm, but the untimely joy in his movements told her otherwise, confirmed when Blue Eyes, instead, change direction and limped around the back of the jeep, climbing inside. Haley glanced back to Ash for an explanation, but he seemed just as confused as she did. But she could still hear Blue Eyes gibber and hoot as if he found a plantation of fruit, something they've surely lacked in Muir Woods - she could see him shuffling around in the back of the jeep as if he was standing atop an ant hill. Maybe he was distracting himself with the vehicle? He's only seen such a thing twice.

But then Haley squinted, trying to watch him closer, and finally saw a single limb, an ape hand reaching up and grasping Blue Eyes' shoulder reassuringly. It took her mind almost no time at all before it clicked. In an instant, Haley's stomach dropped, her chin slacking into a gape and her eyes widening in disbelief. It couldn't be. Silence filled her ears, just the sight before her pounding in her senses. It couldn't be, but there's only one ape Blue Eyes would get so thrilled over. Ash, too, must have picked up on the familiar scent that Blue Eyes had recognized, because he, too, rushed pass Haley, accidentally brushing shoulders. She, however, didn't even notice him move and only wobbling briefly at the contact. No, it couldn't be.

Hesitantly, Haley stepped forward, careful not to let her numb legs give away. She couldn't let herself hope that she was right; having her hope crushed would be even worse than him actually being gone for good. So she swallowed the nervous bile in her throat and didn't allow herself to so much as breathe as she made her way around the back of the jeep - Ellie and Malcolm's eyes following her closely. Feeling Haley's presence behind him, Ash quickly stepped out of the way, and then Haley couldn't deny it anymore. A loud thunk vibrated around forest when she grasped at the frame of the jeep to keep her from falling over. Staring up at her with half-lidded and red eyes, Caesar laid, alive, between her and Blue Eyes, his dry lips curling into a faint smile when he saw her. Haley didn't even notice Alex peeking out behind Blue Eyes. "At least," He grunted weakly, just before her eyes wandered down to the wound on his lower left shoulder, "You are all safe." Just seeing the three of them alive helped to mend some of his heart, especially after Ellie told him that she had no idea where his family was.

However, Haley barely recognized his relief, while the rest of her consciously ignored it when she got preoccupied. When she saw Caesar alive, she had briefly thought he might not have been shot - he might have only been grazed - but the bloody hole peeking out from under his fur was as clear as day. 'The bullet barely missed his vital organs,' Haley thought despite herself, remembering the anatomy pictures she's seen plenty of times in the books she read as a child. 'No,' she noted disappointedly, 'those pictures were human.'

"Haley," Caesar said more harshly to grab her attention, his face pulled back to its usual frown, and to his relief, her worried, wide, and dark eyes tore away from his wound - he wondered if she even realized how her eyes had changed from just the previous night. "I am alright." He assured her, saying the exact same thing he had to tell his son moments before, but he could tell from her despaired silence that she didn't believe him. Of course, he always knew that his death would affect her severely - never has he been sure why. Stealing a bit more of his depleted strength, he beckoned her closer with his hand while also freeing his son from his hold to rest the other side of his body. Haley, of course, didn't even think about it and did as asked.

Haley was convinced that what she was seeing wasn't real, that she was dreaming. She told herself that the silence in the cave under the tree got to her and she passed out. Yes, she was just lying there, fast asleep, imagining her wish to come true. Him being alive is impossible; that wouldn't happen in real life. Ellie and Malcolm are probably both dead at the hands of Koba's troops, she hypothesized while she climbed into the vehicle on her knees. Caesar's corpse was still lying at the bottom of the cliff, food for the nature surrounding it. But then, rough, rubbery, cool skin grazed her neck and shocked her mind to reality, forcing her delusion to fall apart. Her ghosted eyes flickered back to life, her body gained feeling once more, and she stared back into Caesar's gold-flecked eyes with surprised solace. Wrapping his fingers around the back of Haley's neck, Caesar slowly pulled her down towards him, as if he was expecting her to collapse if he moved any faster, and lurched her heart by finally pressing her forehead to his, assuring her that he was truly there, alive and safe. Haley wasn't sure why, but she couldn't cry, not even out of the tremendous joy she was feeling - she simply squeezed her eyes shut and allowed her shoulders to shake in tearless sobs.

He was alive.

He really was alive.

"You're okay." She breathed breathlessly, and waited until he finally let go before she sat up and attempted to compose herself. Despite Caesar's attempt, Haley still couldn't take her eyes off of him, afraid he'd disappear and she'd find out she really was hallucinating. "What happened?" She asked, the memory of his limp body falling from the edge of the village replaying in her head, "I saw Carver shoot you - you were dead."

"No," Malcolm's voice interrupted once again and he appeared next to Ash. There was a pause before he tried to explain, a pause that somehow gave Haley a chill, "It was-"

Quickly, Caesar stopped him with a harsh and rushed grunt, and when Haley turned back to look towards him, she could see him glowering at Malcolm to stay quiet, making her eyes narrow suspiciously. What was that?

"We need to get out of here." Ellie interrupted as well, knocking on the back window behind Haley to grab everyone's attention, "I can't help Caesar out here: it's too dangerous."

"I know… a place." Caesar suggested to Malcolm, knowing he was too weak to yell over Haley and Malcolm so Ellie could hear. Nodding, Malcolm left to inform Ellie that they had a heading: just like before, she'll have to walk ahead to look for a path.

Even with everything happening, though, Haley's eyes stayed on Caesar, even if it was clear he was ignoring her. She wanted to ask him why he stopped Malcolm from explaining things to her - it was killing her to know what really happened - but as the ball started rolling for them to get to safety, she knew better than to ask and bit her tongue. After all, she would never hinder anyone from helping Caesar as soon as possible, even if she'll have to live in curious torture for the next few minutes.

* * *

 **So, one of my loved followers,** megascopstrichopsis **, pointed out how there were a couple of mistakes (I'm not mad, I love it when people give me pointers!), so I was curious and checked what she meant. Oh my daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayum. (OoO) There were too many to count! ANYWAYS! I** **proofread** **the chapter now and got most everything sorted... I think.**

 **Also, if you're willing, go check out my YouTube Channel, Geeky Fanatics. You'd have my greatest gratitude.**

 **Last thing, I promise. Someone pointed out that I was using "dismay" wrong and I just wanted to thank you! I'll try to fix the old ones and use it correctly in future chapters. Please, if you guys notice anything else like that, do tell me! Like I said, I love constructive criticism!**


	43. Alice Hunsiker

It was like driving into a memory - a slow, old, and broken down memory. The city was torn down and physically rotten: covered with moss and vines, but Haley's brown eyes followed the streets in habit. Haley's head turned in sync with Caesar's directions before Malcolm could even process them. When Haley had realized where they were going, she had no real reaction. She didn't know if she should feel excited or anxious, if she should remember the pain or joy she experienced there – so she found herself feeling neither and kept a vacant stare. Maybe that was why the drive to Pacific Heights felt so slow and dragged out; it was almost as if her mind wanted to keep her memories at bay for as long as possible. Yet, it was no help. The farther they went and the more the past resurfaced, the tighter Haley's chest felt, compelling her to rub it gently. But, with the city in a state of disrepair, her memories were fuzzy. She saw a ghost of her former self walking down the street to school, walking around the corner to the store, and quickly jogging to the park nearby, but it was flickering like the image on an old television set. And no matter from what angle Haley looked, it was always her back – nothing more. Then, with a sudden pang to her heart, Haley realized it wasn't her she was seeing. Haley was never healthy enough to move around that much.

It was Alice Hunsiker, her sister.

Haley was born as a sickly child. When her mother gave birth to her, Haley didn't move or cry - she was like a corpse. She barely breathed. Her parents were terrified at the idea of their child not surviving the night, but luckily she was spared by numerous injections and by spending the first year of her life in the hospital. Nevertheless, her state never really improved that much until many, many years later, which justified her to be caged in her house throughout her childhood, and which scheduled numerous trips to back to the hospital before she could even speak her first word. Alice, on the other hand, never had this problem, even if they were identical twins. Alice was screaming with life next to Haley when they took their first breath. Because of this, jealousy burned in Haley whenever she watched her sister run out of the house. But, now, as far as Haley knew, she was the only Hunsiker alive - everyone else was dead by the Simian Flu. The irony was not lost on Haley that she was the one to survive, and neither was the guilt whenever she thinks back on how much she hated Alice before she watched the young girl die right in front of her.

All those nauseating memories came rushing back when they arrived and she gazed, emotionlessly, up at her old house. The others climbed out of the Jeep behind her, but she didn't even notice. Malcolm helped Caesar out of the vehicle and quickly grew aware that she was clearly distracted, but before he had the chance to change this, Caesar stopped him with a grunt. Caesar, too, had noticed her blatant stare, but he, on the other hand, knew her reasons and knew to leave her be. Thus, he motioned to the neighboring home - his home - and did his best to move towards it with his own strength, just to ease the amount of trouble for Malcolm. Behind them, Alex and Ash helped Foster on his way, too. Before they all left the forest, Haley and the two apes remembered the man back under the bole with simultaneous, startled gasps and helped Malcolm place him in the Jeep with Caesar. By the time they were driving again, the vehicle was practically ripping at its seams. Ellie was horrified at the sight of his bleeding leg, and even more so when Haley confessed to the fact that the wound was inflicted by her arrow, but the doctor didn't say anything in response. She seemed more proud of Haley's patchwork that anything else. Foster, on the other hand, did say one thing before he hushed, "I'm just lucky she missed her target." Haley glared at him for his jab at her aim, but it quickly faded when she saw the significant look he was giving her. Just then, she recalled something: the reason the skin on her hands were sticky and hard. She unconsciously must have suppressed the fact that she killed Kemp, but Foster clearly hadn't, and yet, he told her without words that he won't say anything, _'Just take that jab as a gift in return to me keeping my mouth shut.'_

"Haley?" Ellie questioned finally, not having seen the exchange between Malcolm and Caesar earlier. Blue Eyes paused at the door when he heard the new conversation start and turned to to eavesdrop. They were the last ones outside. "Are you coming?" She asked when Haley gave no response.

"No." Haley stated without thinking, her stare never leaving the tall building, but she quickly realized her mistake. "I'll be there later - go ahead." She waved Ellie off, still not sparing a glance, and finally broke her legs free of their anxious lock. Just like Caesar's home, the quarantine tape around Haley's home was already broken - she had been the one who had done it many years earlier. So she stepped over the string-like ends where it had been torn and continued up the path. The small front gate squeaked louder than ever as she pulled it open on its underused hinges with the tips of her fingers. Haley wondered if it was because of the pitch of the sound or because of the passing of time that the white paint flecked off of the steel and stuck to her skin, but as she wiped her hands off on her coat, the importance was wiped away, too. She continued through the open front door and gulped as the dark, familiar hallway came into focus. The small table still stood on the same spot against the wall, the phone still on the same spot on top of it, and so did all the plants in the corners, though they were withered and leafless now. Everything was right where Haley left them when she left to find a new place to live - the furniture, the decor, and her babysitter's corpse. But the corpse was different now. The older woman's bloody lips were replaced with the view of all her teeth, her dead stare with two empty sockets, her reaching hand with hard white segments - the only thing still covering her skeleton was the clothing she wore when she died. Haley preferred it this way - she didn't want to see the filthy, decaying, rotting corpse of someone she used to know.

 _Someone she used to know._

Haley's eyes suddenly snapped up to the ceiling, away from the remains, and grew large at what she'll have to face soon. Quickly, she tore forward and moved over everything as if they were of equal importance - it didn't matter that one of those things was her babysitter. Quickly, she rushed upstairs. She hurried without really knowing why she needed to - it wasn't like the reality would change - but as soon as she spotted the door at the end of the hall, she stopped herself anyway. She could already see a glimpse of the room through the crack in the door and could make out the edge of an old bed inside, and that was enough to make her consider leaving. But she couldn't bring herself to go, and she couldn't figure out why. Clenching her fists until the pain from her nails sliced her statued state, she strutted on and closed the gap between her and the dreaded sight that will come. Unlike the front gate, it was as if the door was mutet when she pushed it open with her shaky hand. Immediately she saw what she was looking for, but strangely enough, when her brown eyes once again connected with two empty sockets, she felt no horrific reaction. Instead, she felt the tension in her body fade. Comfortably underneath a dirty blue duvet, the skeleton of a child laid, looking as if it was bathing in the beams of light that were peeking through the holes in the bleached curtains - caused by moths, no doubt. There were not a single feature left on the decayed body, but it was still as if Haley could see it was sleeping peacefully, eyes shut. Haley continued up to the dusty chair next to the bed.

Carefully, she placed herself down in it, no matter how filthy, and found it was so much lower than she remembered, or maybe she's just grown that much. Then, as if afraid she'll wake the remains, Haley gingerly reached and made to pick up its hand, but when she hooked her own hand underneath and lifted, the unstable structure crumbled and scattered abruptly. Phalanges rolled in every direction, clattering against the wooden floor and left Haley to stare in disbelief. That wasn't what she wanted - _why did that happen?_ She's only been healthy enough to visit the museum once and those skeletons stayed together, _didn't they?_ So did the skeletons that were showed in those biology books she used to read. _Does thousands of years do that to bones - make them stick together?_ She quickly knew that was a ridiculous idea. _'But then… why?'_ She thought as she retracted her arm and stared down at the single bone left in her palm. The tip of her sister's thumb, she hypothesised. The doctors and anthropologist must put the bones together before displaying them. _'But why do they do that?'_ She continued to ponder like a child, still studying the segment, _'Is it for their own amusement? Did they want this to happen to someone when he or she found the remains of a loved one? Do they really have so little to do?'_ Then again, death never was as clean as people made it seem.

Clutching the bone in her hand, Haley redirected her attention onto her sister's scull while she thought about what death is really like. That should've been her, she knew. It shouldn't have been Alice - it should have been Haley who was reduced to such an ugly state. She was the sickly one, she was the one who everyone predicted to die early, she was the one who had less to live for, she was the one who didn't have that many people left to miss her - it was always Haley, not Alice. But something about that also felt wrong to Haley. Not because she shouldn't have been the one to die, but because, that... was her. She was Alice, in a sense. The only thing that made them different was that Haley was sickly as a child - nothing else. They grew up in the same house, had the same parents, had the same eyes, had the same nose, had the same hair, had the same lips, had the same bones, had the same minds - only, Haley was sick. It was because she was sick that Haley saw Caesar through the dormer window in her neighbor's attic; she was sick enough to watch it every day while Alice was on a school trip. She might've seen him eventually anyway, but would she have cared? She'd have had friends of her own - she wouldn't have been searching for something to make her life worthwhile. Caesar was her escape from who she thought she would always be - meeting with him every weekend gave her a mysterious energy and life.

The day Alice died, so did Alice's sister - that was all Haley was. After that day, Haley changed - she became stronger, braver, freer - she became the Haley who visited Caesar every week. She became the only one of her kind. She became her. It wasn't just Alice who died in that room. That one body might've held one face, but that one face held two people. Carefully, Haley traced her fingertips over the stitched scar on the shaved side of her head. She had her own scars and her own wounds, now - she no longer looked like Alice.

Suddenly, the floorboards creaked by the door, making Haley jump up in alarm, even if only to see it was Malcolm and to sign in exasperation. However, his attention soon seemed stolen by the remains under the covers, eyes spread wide in horror. Soon enough, Ellie also slipped through the door and wore the same, exact expression. "That…" Ellie breathed and rose her gaze back to Haley's, "Who's that?"

Haley wondered if Ellie even knew that she had a twin. It might've said something in her file, but that's the only way she could've known. By the time Ellie became a doctor at the hospital, Haley's sister and father became either too bored or too busy to wait there with her. Directing her own attention onto the remains with Malcolm, she frowned in thought. "It's me." She hummed sincerely - in reality, it was, but she could also understand the confused looks that she felt seering into the back of her head. Something more important caught their attention, however.

"Haley?" Malcolm called quietly and gave Haley a serious look - a meaningful look that made her eyes narrow, "Are you alright?" Again, Ellie had the same look on her face, and both made Haley nervous for reasons she wasn't aware of just yet.

"I'm fine." She said simply and waited for them to say more, but silence followed. The silence felt almost nauseating. She had a terrible feeling already. "Why?" She pressed, suspicious eyes moving between them. Then she realized she didn't know another thing. "Why are you here?" She paused, "You should be taking care of Caesar!" But they didn't answer. Instead, they glanced towards each other and radiated a guilt that made the entire room tense. Haley felt as if she could suffocate under pressure of it. She silently wished she could open a window, for fresher air, but something told her that, if she walked away now, they'd never tell her what was going on. Of course, she had an inkling what the issue was about , but she didn't want to believe it. Nonetheless, just a moment later, as if purposefully cutting mercilessly through her denial, she spotted the hairy figure skulking right outside the door, hunched over to hide. "Blue Eyes," She seethed in a whisper and saw him flinch, "You told them?"

Knowing he was caught, Blue Eyes reluctantly moved inside with Ash following in tow, both still keeping low. _"Help-"_ He signed slowly, _"Humans could help where apes can't help Haley. Haley's hurting inside. Had to tell someone truth."_

"It wasn't your truth to tell!" Haley snapped immediately without thinking, even if she wasn't quite sure if she was furious with him telling them or if she was furious by the fact that yet another ape felt the need to point out that she wasn't an ape - she was still just a human to every single one of them.

"So it is true," Ellie choked, sounding as if she had just been punched in her gut by the news, "That other ape - he raped you?"

Those words - they were such vile words - and Haley bit deep into her cheek at the mention of them, which rewarded her with the strong taste of iron as her canines pierced flesh. Never has she heard them so much as whispered, and hearing them said so abruptly - it took Haley grabbing her throat to stop her from vomiting. She wanted to throw up so badly. There was a reality to that statement that Haley always knew, but she's always insisted that it was her fault that Koba did what he did. So, she couldn't say yes to Ellie - a sense of fear stopped her - but she couldn't say no either, so she skipped ahead. "Does Caesar know?" She drawled pass the vise her fingers created around her neck, "Did he hear you telling them?"

"No." Ash signed behind Blue Eyes before the prince could have the chance.

"Good - keep it that way."

"You're kidding," Malcolm spoke up. Of course, he knew why it made sense that Haley wouldn't want Caesar to know the truth, even if it was a twisted and heart-wrenching mindset she had. He realized quite a while back that Haley felt a love for Caesar that surpassed that of friendship, and he promised himself he would keep quiet, but this was ridiculous. The only reason Haley wouldn't want Caesar to know what his second did was either to spare their friendship or to keep Caesar from thinking she was damaged, or both - and they were both ridiculous reasons. She wasn't damaged and whatever friendship Caesar had with the half-blind bonobo was shattered by the very bullet he shot Caesar with. Promptly, Malcolm reminded himself that Haley doesn't know this yet.

"No, I am not," Haley growled, "I don't want Caesar to know. This is my truth to tell, no matter when I decide that may be, and you best remember that fact. It may be now, it may be ten years from now, but I get to decide!" Anger was starting to replace Haley's nausea. She was angry at Blue Eyes for telling them, angry at Ellie for looking as if it was her who had been hurt, angry at Ash for just following along with this, angry at Malcolm for so obviously seeing pass her facade - she was angry at herself for ever letting anyone find out about what had happened. She was growing with such rage that she couldn't think. She didn't have enough focus left to see a sudden awareness flicker to life in Blue Eyes' eyes; in an instant, the young ape knew what Malcolm knew, and just by something as simple as the compassionate look the human man was giving Haley in regards to his father. The moment he thought about how her behavior fit so perfectly with her hiding a deeper affection for their leader, he couldn't comprehend how he didn't became aware of it a long time ago.

"We're just worried, Haley," Ellie tried to explain, "We-"

"I killed Kemp." Haley blurted. She didn't know what compelled her to do it - she just needed to shut Ellie up and she needed even more horrific news to do it. And clearly, it worked. Haley was sure she would regret her decision later, but quickly, a weight rose from her shoulders. It felt as if she could soar with the truth out in the open. Before, she didn't even realize how much her kill was weighing her down. Ellie and Malcolm didn't look so relieved, however - they looked petrified. It definitely did work. _'I'm sorry Foster,'_ Haley thought, _'Thank you for keeping it secret for a while, though.'_

"So maybe," Haley continued when the quiet grew too uncertain to bare, "instead of focussing on my condition, focus on the danger Foster is facing." An empty threat, Haley knew, but she didn't stop to find out if _they_ were conscious of this, too, and immediately stomped pass the four intruders, heading back downstairs. She was ready to leave that ghastly building as soon as possible. Yet, the single sight of another face made Haley stop in the hallway, immediately alert again. There, in the front door, a pair of dark brown eyes were staring back at Haley - openly. The person was staring so freely that Haley was almost hesitant as she reached for the bow on her back, wondering if the woman meant harm. But, when the stranger reached for her own weapon at the same time, Haley stopped and swallowed, their eyes never breaking from one another. There was something else that bothered Haley and left her frozen for what felt like forever. Those eyes - they were unfamiliar, and yet they seemed so incredibly familiar at the same time.

It took her awhile before she registered that the figure was also moving in unison to her swaying, walking, shifting, and blinking - it was her reflection. She remembered now: they had a mirror on the back of their front door. She couldn't even recognize her own reflection. With great distaste, she studied her blonde dreadlocks, the gash on her forehead, the badly sewn coat on her shoulders, the weapon on her back, and her strong legs and arms, though everything was camouflaged by a layer of dirt and dried blood - Haley wondered if Ellie and Malcolm have realized that the red splodges on her face was Kemp's blood. It was her eyes, however, that really tried convincing Haley that she was looking at an entirely different person. Her eyes looked dark, tired, and haunted with nightmares of the past - nothing like what they used to be. The thought made her fists clench once more, knowing who was to blame, but only until she fully felt the small pebble-like structure in her palm and got distracted. _'The bone,'_ She recalled and studied it again, _'I didn't even realize…'_

Signing softly when she heard footsteps on the staircase behind her, Haley slipped the bone in between her small breasts for safekeeping and exited her old home with no intention of ever going back again. Now that everything was settled, she can ask Caesar what happened.

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! And I hope I got at least most of the mistakes! Remember, if you guys want, go take a look at my YouTube Channel: Geeky Fanatic.**

 **Also, I don't know if I will be able to upload for the next two weeks, because I'm pretty busy with designing the set for my college musical and with rehearsals, but I shall try! ^^**


	44. The Coward

After Haley and the others collected into the house next door, the disagreement was dropped. Haley was confused by how easily they shrugged away the fact that she killed one of their teammates and felt almost uneasy by the fact that death affected them so little − it was almost like they knew something she didn't. Of course, they did share a secret: the fact that they knew Caesar's assassination, or attempt thereof, wasn't as clean as it seemed. But that wasn't this. Ellie and Malcolm had a silent agreement, which they had no control of: now was't the time. But in fact, they, too, felt uneasy by how little they cared about what Haley did. Only seeing Foster's face deep in thought told them that they were not alone and that he had the same turmoil riddling his thoughts. For some unwilling reason, the group of humans felt an understanding towards her actions; they wanted to be furious with her and disgusted, but they just couldn't bring themselves to.

Looking around, Haley was calmed by the fact that Caesar's home looked even more familiar than the neighborhood, her lips twitching with a light smile at that fact. It made sense, because it was there that she didn't just ghost her way through time - she truly lived. However, there were things that were out of place, she noted. Every single drawer was open and in disarray, and so was the cupboards and smaller containers. It didn't take a genius to see that the home had been searched, and Haley supposed that it was to be expected. When the Simian Flu spread, people were desperate to stock up − people broke into stores and storage units − so other houses weren't a big leap to take. So that was where her trail of thought ended. Haley didn't know that the building wasn't searched by hungry people, not even Gen-Sys, but was actually ransacked by a reporter ten year ago, who also released the truth about the Simian Flu a few days later. Maybe Haley didn't care, because, despite everything, it was the same place. Giggling echoed in Haley's reminiscing ears before shadows of the past sped pass her in the forms of a young girl and an ape, making her flinch back until she saw their opacity was low and their voices hallow − they weren't real. Oblivious to the future watching them, both of the figures sneaked up the stairs with a bunch of candy stacked in their arms. Haley missed those days to the extent that it hurt − back then, stealing candy from Will's secret supply was the biggest strife she and Caesar had to deal with. Today, her friend was shot, she was hiding the fact that his other friend had taken advantage of her, and they were all being dragged into a war.

Looking around the living room, Haley saw that Foster was sprawled across one of the couches, seeming in pure bliss after he had to lay on solid dirt a while ago. He didn't even move when Ash, an ape, sat down by his feet at the end of a couch and studied him; in fact, Foster gave Ash a welcoming look instead. But on the other end, Caesar's couch was empty, and he wasn't anywhere close by, by the looks of it. "Where's Caesar?" She asked. She wasn't worried, knowing that Caesar wouldn't run off completely in his condition and Foster definitely didn't have the strength to drag her friend away either. But Foster didn't realize she was talking to him while he watched everyone else making themselves comfortable on tables, chairs, and one last couch − not until his eyes wandered towards her annoyed face.

"Oh!" Foster said quickly, "He went upstairs." And then he went back to trying to decipher whatever Ash was signing to him, " _Need to use arms to move around now?"_ but only for Ash to gibber in amusement at the sight of his bemused, contorted face. Blue Eyes gibbered at the entertaining sight, too. They were all just trying their best to distract themselves,

Nodding to no one in particular, Haley turned around to go look for her friend, but then paused. "They know, by the way," She revealed and waited until she had stolen Foster's attention again before she motioned towards Ellie and Malcolm. She thought that Foster knowing he wasn't alone with the truth would be a gift, especially with all the hell going around. Still, it made sense that his face fell in dismay. Haley couldn't help but think to herself that that expression was the most comical one, with his mouth agape and his eyes giant. "What!?" She heard him yell while she ascended the staircase − slowly. When she reached the top and the voices in the living room grew muffled by distance, something else unexpectedly reached her ears. For a moment, she thought the past was once again playing tricks on her, but no ghosts showed themselves this time. Haley grew a puzzled frown when the only option left was the reality of the giggling voices being real. Ahead, Haley saw the ladder to the attic playroom already pulled down and worried about how that might've hurt Caesar to do in his condition. But she was thankfully distracted by the fact that the voices got more distinct the farther she followed Caesar's path.

"Look what I have!" She heard a young girl laugh and hesitated at the bottom of the steps. "That's great." A man responded and was echoed by gibbering seconds later, "You think so, too, huh?"

Just then, Haley realized where and from what the voices must be coming from, recognizing the conversation, and when she climbed the ladder, her conclusion was confirmed. Just like all the other rooms, the attic was turned upside down, but, with Caesar's older and more messy appearance, it seemed to fit. It was as if he had been alone and living in that room for the last decade. She could almost see an image overlay her vision − an image of Caesar sitting exactly as he was now, but with the room still neat and clean. The only difference was the camera in his hands and the voices still playing from it.

Caesar didn't react to Haley's arrival, but as the floorboards creaked under her bare feet, she knew he knew she was there. So, he didn't flinch when she sat down next to him on the old bed, a cloud of dust wafting out around her bum. For a while, she watched the recording with him − a recording of her, him, his grandfather… and Will. Haley almost felt uncomfortable sitting next to Caesar, not knowing what to tell him - not knowing if she should say anything at all. Breaking her gaze from the tiny screen, she chose to watch Caesar's reactions in place of their past, and she froze when she saw his face. He actually didn't look sad at all. He looked happy. His eyes were glossy from hinting tears, but his thin lips were pulled into a tired smile. Though it was brief, she could see his shoulders shaking every few minutes with a silent chuckle. Unlike her, he wasn't focusing on what he had lost in the recording at all, but rather looked happy he was able to see their young faces again. But inevitably, that chance ran out in three heart-crushing beeps and the only source of light in the house was extinguished by a low battery. Haley wondered what Caesar was seeing when his gaze stayed glued to the black square for a few more minutes.

For whatever reason, this made Haley remember what she had seen only a while ago: the skeletons of her babysitter and her twin sister. Haley could remember the phrase "skeletons of the past," and she prayed that Caesar wasn't dealing with what she had to face, too. Promptly, she remembered one important fact. "Don't go into Will's room." She announced suddenly and Caesar was about to ask her why, but when he saw the significant look she gave, he just knew he should just listen. Haley still had the sight of Will and Caroline's corpses burned into her brain from when she saw them holding each other in their bed − dead and rotting. But she didn't want to think about that now; she went looking for Caesar for a reason.

After waiting a few more minutes for the comfortable silence to pass, she decided it was time. "Caesar…" She drew out, watching her fingers trace each other on their own, "What happened to you? I know you kept Malcolm from telling me, but what could it be if that was the case? I saw Carver shoot you, so..." Silence followed, but Haley didn't allowed her impatience to push Caesar's response. As an alternative, she kept perfectly still and allowed her fingers to work more diligently.

If Caesar was honest, he knew why she was there. That's probably why he dragged the quiet as long as he could, to keep her from knowing what her mate had done. Though, he didn't know this with certainty. He also didn't want to leave his old play room and face the crumbling world outside, and he was willing to drag his time in this illusion for as long as possible − he didn't want to know how many of his apes were lost, in every sense of the word. But he knew it was mostly because he didn't want his friend to face the reality he was living with: Koba had betrayed them all. His face tightened as he carefully placed the camera on the bed beside him. "Not Carver." He grunted slowly, wondering how he should say it. What was the best way to keep Haley's reality from being shattered and the love she feels for her mate to be twisted and torn? If he had know the truth about their relationship, it might have been easier for him to tell her. "Was ape − was," He said, the human speech harder than usual, and paused. It was as if he was waiting for the truth to change, or as if he expected his mind to tell him it was okay − that she didn't need to know. But in the end, he knew neither was probable, if even possible.

"Was Koba."

Haley wasn't sure what compelled her, but she laughed. It was a faint laugh, a strained laugh, and it sounded as if she was just trying to humor Caesar for the crude joke he was surely trying to make, but it was a laugh nonetheless. It came from her lips, it was her voice, and it made her heart clench, because, deep down, she knew that she was fooling herself. Then that moment came: the moment she truly took in Caesar's appearance and that moment she saw the sincere and pained sympathy painted across his noseless and foreheadless face. It was as if she was suddenly punched in her stomach; she could almost feel the knuckles dig into her abdomen. Haley paled, her eyes growing wide, and felt that familiar nausea sway her with a nonexistent breeze. She could feel something familiar bubbling back up her mouth − something at least a decade old. _Stay down_ , her unconscious screamed, _stay down_ , but she stayed oblivious.

"It… it was dark." Haley breathed, fighting the trembling of her hands by clutching them together with a merciless strength, "you can't know that."

Caesar frowned - even though it made sense, something about her reaction seemed off. She looked afraid of what he said, not crushed. Somehow, this made him more anxious. "Moon there - and fire." He grunted again, steadfast, "Saw Koba."

That was it − the last push it needed. Whatever was clawing in Haley's throat sprang forward and tore pass her lips. "You're lying." She mouthed breathlessly. She didn't even know what she was saying − something was controlling her, leading her, and she couldn't figure out what it was. But, whatever it was, it made her body heavy and cold, it left her mind blank and foggy, and it made her heart thunder loudly. For some reason, she didn't want to believe Caesar − she couldn't. The idea made her skin crawl. The idea of just accepting the truth for what it was made her sweat and her muscles stiff. She now knew where she recognized the feeling from: it was from when she stood between Caesar and her father.

Caesar's eyes widened at her words. He wanted to ask her if he heard right, but his lips wouldn't move. And neither would his hands. She had told him that he was lying to her - but what would ever give her that idea? His expression, it seemed, was enough to convey his concerns.

"You're lying!" She repeated again and jumped up from the bed, signing her words at the same time. For whatever reason, she backed as far away from him as possible. It was like he was fire, trying to nip at her skin. As a result, she tripped over a few toys, jumping in alarm each time, before she pressed herself back against the wall. "It can't be true!" She yelled again, eyes moving with a new alertness.

Just then, watching her back away and her eyes jump around, Caesar saw something. Even if Haley might not have realized it, he could see it: she was scared. No, it was more than that - she was absolutely terrified. He kept staring in dismay, not knowing what he was supposed to do. The only words that finally snapped him out of it was, "I'll prove it!" Before Caesar had a say, he already heard the ladder creak harshly under her rushing feet. "Haley!" He barked after her - it felt the loudest he's ever spoken in the human tongue - but when he tried standing up to chase after her, his body just froze with a painful jolt. He was quickly reminded of his wound by the pounding in his shoulder. But he tried standing quickly again, and again, and again - panicked. What would Koba do if she suddenly shows up and demands answers - let alone accuse him of killing his leader?

Haley didn't stop at the sound of her name and stormed the way she came, nearly tripping a few times down the staircase. Her breathing was already rapid and her mouth was growing painfully dry, but she kept going. Downstairs, her noisy movements sounded like a stampede, so it was no surprise that everyone saw her figure blur from the staircase towards the front door. "Haley! Where are you going!?" Ellie screamed after her. Somehow, everyone, even those who weren't told about Koba, knew what had happened.

"I'm going back to my mate!" Came Haley's worrying words, growing father down the street with every second that passed, "I should have done so the moment I had the chance!"

 **Painful to write as always! I'm just glad I could finally move on from this heart-wrenching chapter! I've been dreading it for months!**

 **Remember, if you guys want, go take a look at my YouTube Channel: Geeky Fanatic. I recommend it if you're a Transformers fan! XD**


	45. Redemption

Haley never stopped running - from the moment she left Pacific Heights, she hadn't allowed herself to even stumble or pause. She couldn't bring herself to. Caesar's words kept repeating mercilessly in her head - over, over, over, and over again. "Was Koba." They made her subconscious bleed with a knowing, but she didn't want to believe it, so in her subconscious is where the reality was kept. She didn't stop to give herself the chance to think about it. _She was fooling herself_ , a part of her knew, _but it didn't matter_. There was something in her, something painful that kept her from facing the truth of what Koba had done. Caesar, in all his might, had realize it was fear that was clouding her, but Haley still couldn't - or wouldn't - discern it for herself.

The farther Haley sped, the less she could recognize the streets and buildings. She's seen the area multiple times in her past, but what was left was nothing more than an empty and broken shell of the past. The buildings were falling apart, camouflaged behind withered graffiti, and stained in the smoke of whatever flame they had come in contact with. To Haley, it looked as if color had been drained from the inner parts of San Francisco and it had left any structure weak and lifeless as a result. But she wondered if it was really that much different from how it had been in the past, because every time she was driven to some new hospital, the effect was the same - the world got more shriveled and dry with each tick of the clock that she moved. Or maybe then and now are both an illusion, because, the farther she ran from Caesar and the others, the worse the discoloration became. It was haunting - it was cold and chilly, too.

But despite the signs of history's casualties on the walls that built the city, Haley did not spot any remains withering away in the streets or alleyways. She slowed into a stride, looking around cautiously. She knew millions died from the Simian Flu, but if that was the case, the matter of what happened to the dead was a mystery. Haley shivered suddenly under a non-existent breeze. She was quickly ambushed by her own imagination and saw the disgusting image of desperate and starving humans feeding on their own kind, and from what she had last seen of civilization, she honestly didn't put it pass any of those animals to resort to cannibalism. Shaking her head, Haley pushed on.

It took a while, but eventually, Haley saw those corpses that she so naively asked for - but these were different. Some still twitched and crawled weakly for survival while others stared wide-eyes into whatever the dead see when they meet their end. Her heart tugged violently at the fresh deaths all around her - apes and man. Luckily, none of the apes were suffering on their path to death. But something told Haley that this was deliberately the case, and she felt sickened by the idea of apes having to put their own kind out of misery. Somehow, the air got even colder. _Is this what apes were charging after when they scattered to find revenge for their fallen king?_

 _'No,'_ Haley answered herself immediately _, 'this is not what any of them wanted.'_

Gentle gibbering quickly interrupted Haley's track of mind and made her head whip up in alarm, but her horror only grew at the sight she found. Peeking out from behind the corner ahead and standing on the side of another abandoned street, Hayley spotted an unmoving and filthy bus, anchored down by its own dead weight. But it was different than any bus she knew. She tried reading the words printed on the back, to read what it was, but the giant machine was painted in mud, dust, and dirt. What she did see was that each window was bolted down with security bars. Whether they were meant for protecting the purposed humans inside or to simply keep something outside, Haley wasn't sure; right now, however, it was to keep something within its powerful, unbreakable, steel walls, and it made Haley gasp in horror. Peeking out between the metal bars, Haley could see hairy faces watching her closely, and though she hadn't closed any distance, she knew who they were: the council. For a moment, Haley paled. _Had the humans won?_ She had assumed by the sight of the dead and dying that it had been the apes, but did the humans just not have the heart to shoot their own and rather shot apes to appease themselves?

Haley didn't give it much thought before she sprinted towards the bus to help her friends, reaching for her weapon, but she barely got halfway before she was stopped by the aim of a gun. It was nauseating, seeing an ape hold a gun. Not to mention, she recognized the ape, and that made it somewhat worse. Ray, a young orangutan, wasn't that well acquainted with Haley, but she remembers overhearing a conversation he had with his father once. Unlike Ray, Hector was a hunter with Haley and the others, so he knew more about what his son needed than his son did. Against Ray's pleas for a blade, Hector insisted he carry a spear - something made from nature - something that can be felt and carved - something that can be trusted as a part of your own body. Many other apes fastened glass and metal to their wood, but "blades break," Hector would say. As a result, seeing Ray with a gun wasn't right. And, judging by the way the thing gently trembled in his hands, Haley knew Ray would agree.

 _So the apes had won_ , Haley realized as well.

Carefully, she moved her hand away from her bow again, not wanting to startle Ray, especially not in his unstable state.

 _"Let me pass."_ Haley signed, but he didn't budge.

 _"Can't."_ He signed back. Haley wondered if he meant to be as straightforward as he was or if he just didn't know enough signs to elaborate on his reasons. She knew he never had the chance to learn as many words as most. But, at least he understood them.

"Why not?" She growled aloud, signing at the same time. She could still see Maurice, Luca, and Rocket watching her with cruel accuracy. Them looking more worried about her situation than theirs made the pain in her chest so much worse. She didn't want to see them caged like that - never. But again, Ray didn't move out of the way, even though he looked uncomfortable to such an extent that Haley knew he wanted to. Alas, with seeing him following commands that were not his own, it dawned on her - _who was the one leading the apes now?_ It was Koba. He must have given the order, whatever the order might have been for Ray to keep her away from the others.

As a result, something else struck her about her predicament: without words, she was given a choice. She could chose to step away - in which case, Ray would let her walk and she will be perfectly safe. There'd be no risk at all. Or she could chose to simply walk pass Ray and go free her friends, because it was clear he didn't have the heart, or lack thereof, to hurt her. But if she chose that - if she chose to save the apes that make up her family - she will be a traitor. And Haley knew she wouldn't be locked away like the apes. It was likely that Koba only kept them alive to keep the other apes satisfied, and in return, under his power. So, as a "hairless creature," she will be shot. Yes, Koba was definitely giving her a choice. He was allowing her to choice him or them - or rather, him or death. It wasn't much of a choice, but it _was_ one.

But why did he even have Caesar's council locked away? If he was avenging an ape he truly cared for, wouldn't he want to keep them close? Slowly, that reality in Haley's subconscious began to bubble.

Haley moved her attention back on the gun between her and Ray. Something about it ruffled her feathers - well, they would have been ruffled if she had any. She was alarmed by the sight of an ape holding a gun, yes, but there was something else that bothered her - something she couldn't pinpoint. All she knew was that things didn't add up. Haley had no doubt that all the other apes were holding their own clone of the weapon, too, but how had Koba known where to get them? Sure, the apes might have gone looking, but then the element of surprise would have been ruined and they wouldn't have won the battle. Raising her head, Haley's eyes met Maurice's again and, as if reading her very thoughts, he nodded in confirmation. Suddenly, a third choice opened to Haley and her face darkened.

"Where's Koba?" She asked Ray slowly, eyes never leaving the elders ahead.

This time, Ray had no reason to deny her and seemed more than happy to motion up at the skyscraper beside them. He looked ecstatic to be able to tell her something - or maybe it was the fact that it seemed as if she chose not to go against Koba.

"High." He signed, "Others with him and warriors."

"Others?"

"Females and children." He explained, not realizing exactly how horrific that fact was.

The skies echoed with a loud and startling "What!?" once Haley processed what he said and followed with loud flapping when dozens of wandering doves took to the skies in alarm. _Why the hell are the females and children here,_ Haley screamed internally as she sped the way Ray had pointed. She already had a bad inkling about the weapons, which was confirmed by Maurice, and this made it so much worse. There was no reason why Koba would want them here, not this soon after battle, _so why did he allow it?_

A part of Haley wondered if Ray was confused and if he had misunderstood the situation, but when she reached the top of the building, all doubt faded. The top floor of the skyscraper, acting as a roof, was still thorned by thick cognac-colored construction beams, revealing the abandonment it suffered from the builders before it could be finished. No doubt, it was when the Simian Flu began to spread. But this was perfect for the building's current inhabitants. Wide in horror, Haley's eyes skimmed the sight of hundreds of apes hanging, sitting, and balancing on those very beams, some already taking note of her arrival. It didn't take long before Haley spotted Cornelia, still slightly weak, on one of the platforms with Cornelius against her chest and the other females encircling her. _So they really were there._

Haley was able to stand in her spot for a while, taking the time to catch her breath after all the stairs, before apes finally parted ahead of her. It looked almost embarrassing - the apes didn't even stand that close to one another and yet they scurried out of the way when Koba walked towards Haley. He stopped. They watched each other for a while in silence - no real reason for it. Despite everything, though, Haley felt a wave of relief when she saw he was okay - maybe it was the resulting conflict inside of her that made her pause. Eventually, she surrendered and quickly rushed over and pressed her forehead against his.

"Thank God you are alright." She breathed, a bit scared by the honesty of the statement, and pulled away.

"Worried," He grunted softly, as if afraid the others would hear him, and then signed, "Been gone long."

"I found the humans." Haley explained, trying her best not to lie - her inkling could be wrong, after all, "Got preoccupied."

Only nodding, he showed that he understood, though he looked unsure. Haley wondered if he actually was worried about her or if he was just trying to keep face, because, if he was worried, he wasn't showing it. He looked more hesitant to credit her for being the 'winner of the hunt.' Even so, that was all the information she seemed to be pertinent to. Haley resisted the urge to stop Koba when he abruptly turned and begun to make his way back from where he came. Instructed by a single grunt and motion, Koba's second, Grey, stepped forward and moved over to Haley with a distasteful snarl. He then shoved a gun towards Haley, clearly not very happy with his orders. But then she remembered that calling to Koba was what she needed to do - asking a question is exactly why she was there. Her words hang heavy as she stared at the weapon for a while. She knew the risk of being right, as well as being wrong, and that this was not the best idea, and apparently, so did her voice. Finally though, she broke her attention from Grey's offer and moved it back to Koba.

"It's a good thing you found these guns, hah?"

Koba stopped and glared at her, looking puzzled from the sudden small-talk.

"The guns," Haley repeated, as if it was that which confused him, and motioned to Grey's and a few more in the crowd of spectators, "Good you found them. Would have been a pity if Carver was still the only one who had a weapon."

Koba nodded again, slowly. Clearly, he wasn't following, but he could tell this wasn't going in his favor.

"Strange, though," Haley dragged out, using every ounce of her self-control to keep composed, "When did you find these weapons? You didn't have time during the battle to go on a casual searching party, right? I mean, I'm just assuming here, since I was away to find Carver and the others." Soft hooting reached Haley's ears from all around her, but in front of her, Koba's face grew indifferent, almost deride at her questions. It angered her that Koba seemed to think her questions were the most ridiculous things ever, as if the answers should be obvious, but she supposed she should be grateful that he at least didn't explode yet. He probably still doesn't get it.

"Searched," He stated shortly, "Days ago."

That was it - he confirmed her suspicions without even realizing it. 'Hunting,' she could still hear his lie from when she caught him leaving their hut. _It was then_ _\- it had to have been._ Immediately, Haley's composure faltered, but unlike what she expected, her face fell in a look of disappointment, which confused her poor mate. She honestly didn't want her hunch to be correct - she honestly didn't want Caesar to be right. But, with Haley's fragile cage of trust being shattered, the truth finally escaped from the depth of her mind and crashed against her sliver of hope.

He tried to kill Caesar - _her_ Caesar.

"You mean when you left to hunt?" She asked slowly, her lips pulling tight with a mixture of anger and sorrow. Seeing the faintest of light flash over Koba's unblinking eyes, Haley knew he understood what she was leaning towards. Her fists clenched. They had one agreement - only one. Haley knew that this one thing was what kept them together until now. After lying to her two years ago and minutes before they became mates, Koba promised to never lie to her again - they agreed to no secrets. Unlike other apes, Haley even knew Koba's past. In little snippets, Haley learned about his life in a strange facility, his life on a real television show (though, he didn't know that was the case until Haley told him), and the true hell he went through on that very show at the hands of his owner before he was sent to the lab, where the torture was even worse. At the time, Haley was horrified and felt immense pity for the half-blind bonobo, but that was not enough to keep Haley's rage from burning now. There was nothing that could blind her from what he's done - not anymore. Not even a cigar to her eyes could stop Haley from seeing the truth, which was what ruined one Koba's own.

There wasn't any real warning for either Haley or Koba before she felt her body pull forward. He didn't have time to process the sight of his mate leaping towards him and only noticed he was gazing up at the sky when the sound of hundreds of screaming apes made their way to his ears. Despite being, well, himself, Koba felt a jab of fear strike his body when he saw Haley's face sneering down at him with demented eyes and bared teeth. But he quickly adjusted.

Haley knew Koba didn't know the full justification for her attack, but it didn't seem to matter when she tackled him to the ground and clutched her hands together high above her head for a powerful blow against his face. She should've known she was making a mistake by opening herself up, but it only clicked when his fist collided with her cheek and compelled her back. Disoriented just enough, he then kicked against her abdomen and finally forced her off of him, but he didn't do anything else. Koba staggered back to his feet and glared down at Haley as she gasped her breath after the blow. For whatever reason, the stitches on her head stopped him from continuing and only left a strange, heavy feeling in his chest.

"You're a bastard - you know that?" Haley growled from her spot on the floor when she had the breath to do so, but Koba still didn't budge. Haley's lungs burned after having the wind knocked out of them, but the inside of her mouth stung more. She roughly wiped the trickle of blood from the corner of her lips. For whatever reason, the other apes didn't move to protect their new leader either. Maybe they knew this was a personal matter. "What now, huh?" She carried on when he didn't respond. Or maybe he did - she wasn't looking. "You going to kill me like you're planning to do with all the other humans?"

"No," Koba growled, just loud enough to steal her attention, before he signed angrily, "Haley not human." Koba had no idea how much he wasn't helping. Somehow, what he said only made Haley's fury inflate.

"Then what the hell am I!?" She snapped, sitting up, "You still haven't answered me! What am I, Koba!? You refuse to regard me as either human or ape, so what am I!? You can't just dismiss my existence as nothing! So what is it!?"

Honestly, Haley didn't know why she was expecting Koba's answer to be any different than it was before. Just like last time, he stared silently. Cornelia, too, stared at the two of them without so much as uttering a gibber, her tongue hanging heavy with anxiety. The building tension in the air set her hairs on end, though the situation also created a painful nostalgia - it was just a few days ago when she asked Caesar exactly what made ape ape. He never had the chance to answer, but it seems Haley had the same questions on her mind. For whatever reason, Cornelia felt Caesar should have seen this argument, but that just pulled at her already-aching heart - _he was gon_ e. She shook her head back to the matter at hand. _Had Koba really been telling Haley these things?_ For a while, Haley thought that maybe Koba was just trying to structure his answer, but she was giving him too much credit. Again, he scoffed and looked away, jabbing a scythe through her very core without even having to say a word. "Funny," Haley forced a laugh, "That hurt more than I thought it would." Haley didn't care to note how the truth had openly startled her mate. At this point, it wouldn't change anything.

With a growl, Haley charged again, more determined than ever to kill the damn ape. This time, however, Koba wasn't surprised. Their hands locked as he was pushed back, keeping her from landing the blow she had planned. She thrashed against his hold, but he didn't dare to let go - she might be human, but she didn't have the strength of one and he knew even he could get seriously injured under it. Finally annoyed by the trouble she was causing, Koba hissed at her to stop and did not give her the chance to obey - he probably knew she wouldn't - before he tossed her light body to his side. But, only seconds after crashing to the ground with a yelp, she begun to get up again. Cornelia's alarmed screech didn't go pass Koba when he jumped Haley, but it was fuzzy to his focus and he pushed on, slamming his fist down at the bare-faced creature as quickly as he could, not wanting to give her time to fight back.

To everyone, it was like watching and feeling the two's very bond being crushed under his punches. All Haley could do was cross her arms above her face, hoping it would help for the endless blows. Her arms came down onto her nose, cheeks, and eyes with each slam, but it would have been worse. Eventually, though, even Koba couldn't keep it up. A single moment of waver was all Haley needed to uncross her arms and use her elbows against the ground to twist her body quickly, tossing the ape from her. Swiftly, she was back up and ran for the closest help she saw. Desperately, she reached for the iron bar, knowing her bow couldn't help her now, but before she had the chance, Koba's weight crashed into her back. She grasped at open air as she was thrown over her goal and tumbled against some metal platform. By the time she settled, her body throbbed, but as if some gift from chance, another bar was right next to her and Koba immediately ran for her when he realized this. But a single clatter stole Haley's mind from her gift anyway.

Haley's eyes widened in horror when she spotted a single white shape hopping and rolling towards the edge of the building - her sister's bone. "No!" She yelled instinctively and stumbled from a crawl into a run to save it, and in the nick of time, she crashed back down onto concrete and caught it. She barely had time to sigh in relief before a hand grasped at her ankle and jerker her back, forcing a scream from her as her exposed skin scraped against the slightly eroded surface. Koba reached for her in a blur, but she somehow manage to flip over and grab his hand with her free one. Returning the favor, she yanked him down and punched him in the face, her fingers tight in a fist around the bone. She watched him stumble back as she caught her breath and placed the bone back between her breasts, pushing it deeper than before. He, too, stopped and breathed, as if they had a wordless agreement to let each other rest.

Haley was the first to carry on, but unlike the charge Koba was expecting, she ran for it in another direction. Ducking to the side, Haley suddenly ran for the beams around them and it took him a second to process the change before he barked in anger and followed, making the other apes scamper out of the patch of construction as quickly as they could. None of them wanted to interfere. Haley knew that the only reason she was still moving around so easily was because of the padding from the coat, but she also knew she wouldn't be able to climb as quickly with it, so she reluctantly took it off in her run and tossed it aside - as she was putting her bow back onto her back, she got an idea.

And so, the climb began. Haley's heart thundered vigorously against her sternum, growing louder with each passing second that the sound of Koba climbing after her nipped at the heels of her bare feet. But she was lighter and less weak - she hadn't just fought a war - and she had the adrenalin to survive. And she was better made for walking upright, which she was counting on. She quickly zipped off of the beam and stepped onto another horizontal one, maneuvering her body around to witness Koba's instincts taking over for him to follow her path exactly. Seeing him walking close on the beam, she backed away in sync with each of his steps, like a pair of gymnasts walking a tightrope.

Through his glower, low posture, and bared canines, Haley could see Koba's usual fury begin to build from having been insulted to this extent. While, ironically, her anger began to wear out. Steadily, Haley felt the fire in her veins begin to cool, as if it was an old game she was getting bored of. She wasn't sure how that was even possible - maybe because she knew he didn't actually succeed in killing Caesar. But the loss of rage didn't stop Haley's desire to stop Koba and make him pay for what he had done. And Koba now had nowhere to go.

In an instant, Haley's bow was back in her hands and both Koba and she halted in the middle of the beam, hundreds of apes gazing up at them from at least fifteen feet below. They and Koba all waited for Haley to grab an arrow, and with everyone's focus drawn to Haley's actions, no one took care to notice that she had no arrows left. She, however, knew, even if she couldn't figure out when she had lost it. It must have been during their brawl, but she couldn't be sure. But she didn't need arrows anyway; she just needed something that can hurt her supposed mate. She was grateful to them all being distracted, though, as it gave her time to breathe, for her lack of sleep was starting to catch up with her again. She could see the silent wait was frustrating Koba to no end, but she took as long as fate would allow her. She wondered if he would attack even without knowing if he had the upper hand, but she decided he wasn't going to overestimate his balance when he's on two legs. He could go down on all fours, but that would give Haley too much time to fire her arrow. Inevitably, though, Haley saw Koba's face twitch and she knew he finally saw the problem, forcing her to act. Just as he was inching forward, Haley lunged with a scream, her bow raised high above her head. She only needed to knock him off his perch.

Just the sight of Koba not so much as trying to dodge her attack already made Haley's stomach sink with a horrible feeling, and so, when the wooden bow slapped against Koba's face hard enough to create a sizable gash, there was no hope behind it. Haley had no time to gaze down at Koba's feet holding onto the beam with a thumbed grasp before she was blinded by him once again knocking the wind from her chest. It felt like a whip came down on her back as she collided with a beam some distance behind her, and it felt like rocks pummeled her body when she fell onto another layer of beams below. She had no will to fight the feeling of her body slipping through a triangle in between the crossing metal and barely managed to grab on in time before she could fall. Her shoulder fought against the new strain it had to endure, but with a single hand, Haley held onto the beam for her life and dangled above certain death. At least, when looking down the terrifying height, Haley was sure she would die, and yet, her other hand still bothered with holding onto her treasured weapon with all its might.

Then, what little grasp she had was made to slip when Koba jumping onto the crossed beams where she hangs, but she held out. Koba ground his teeth harshly as he bowed down and reached for the human female, no more pity or remorse left in him, unlike a few moments ago. The high-pitched wail she released did nothing to stop him when he grabbed onto her blonde locks and pulled her up in front of him, neither did the feeling of her hands desperately pulling at his wrist to keep more of hair from being ripped out. At that moment, she didn't seem to care about the fact that her bow now lay, abandoned, between the other apes on the platform below. "Koba mate." He growled lowly, carefully walking over to the edge of the structure and making sure not to misstep. Despite Koba's apish strength, his arms trembled from Haley's weight as he dangled her over the side, "Koba's follower." He had no idea why he wasn't just tossing her, but something was stopping him. All he knew was that he wanted her to follow him, in the same extent to which she was loyal to Caesar. He wanted her to look at him with the same obedience. _She will accept his authority_. But that's not what he got. Instead, he was frozen in shock.

"Not a fucking chance!" Haley snapped viciously, spitting. With a sudden and unwarranted determination, Haley quickly bit down to tighten her scalp and let go of Koba's arm to grab onto the few hairs on his shoulders before she locked her legs around his middle. "I'd rather see you in hell!" She yelled, and with every ounce of strength she had, she tossed her body back, taking Koba with her in his moment of confusion. Screeches of terror filled the air below the two of them as they plummeted down to the makeshift rooftop, Cornelia and Tinker's pitches a tad bit higher than the others. But in Haley's ears, they were a mere blur. The feeling of Koba's hand holding onto her hair faded as an unexpected peace enveloped her body and forced her eyes to fall shut. She honestly wasn't scared. Or maybe he simply let go, because Haley could have sworn she felt an ape's arms wrap around her with the same care as a mother holding her child. The warmth of the ape was intoxicating as its body tilted underneath hers and towards the impact, or maybe it was all a moment of illusion before reality was stolen away.

* * *

 **I may not be able to upload for the next few weeks on account of studies and stuff, so here's a long one. I really am sorry!**

 **Hope you enjoyed it, though. Good luck with exams, my gorgeous peeps!**


	46. Believe Me

Maurice was frazzled. Since the war broke out between the troop and the humans, he's only felt more and more weak with each turn or twist the battle took. Each death, gunshot, and explosion felt as if it killed a part of him, too. He knew Koba was their leader now, but the bonobo was nothing like Caesar, and even though Maurice wasn't sure if that was his reason, he could not follow Koba like he had their previous king. At least, not into something like this. Maurice did hold respect and care for Koba, but the part that he praised only seemed to show itself when Caesar was around - that is, Caesar or Haley. But Caesar was dead and Haley was missing, and this fight - the killing - Maurice couldn't allow for it. And he paid for that decision as soon as he made it, as others did as well. When he and the council were escorted away from the troop, as if they were nothing but harrier humans, none of them faught. Somehow, they all knew exactly what will happen if they refused to kill. But despite his resolve, Maurice's steps felt heavier than they've felt in a long time. He knew the inside of a cage quite well and wasn't excited to be back in one. He spent his life locked up while he was with the large tent that humans called a circus - it wasn't pleasant at all. And so, it took a lot out of each member of the council to escort themselves into the strange metallic container at gunpoint. First, Maurice had thought it looked funny for an ape to hold a gun, but when his life was put in the balance, his amusement quickly dwindled.

And then came Haley. Seeing the human girl watching him in horror from a few yards away tore at the orangutan's heart. Humans were weak creatures - they broke so easily, whether that be their minds or bodies - and although Haley was excellent at feigning strength to an intimidating height, Maurice never forgot: she was still human. It tore at his heart for Haley to see him and the others chained to the inside of the strange metal beast like crazed animals. Haley cared too much - it made her careless, reckless, and impulsive. The thick and deep dark circles that were carved under her tired, dreary eyes were all the proof anyone needed to reach the same conclusion he had, and it turns out, that was already the case. The makeshift prison shook viciously with the uproar that broke out when Haley disappeared into building to go find Koba. Rocket screeched after the girl, wordlessly telling her to come back. Luca pulled against his restraints with all the power his giant body still had left, and pointlessly kept going when he did nothing but shake the container. They all knew that Haley was on more than just thin ice with Koba - he was definitely in a state that he would kill her if she challenged him in front of everyone. Maurice was more than frazzled, he was petrified.

Eventually, the council calmed down, but the tension in the air made it clear that not a single ape's anxiety was gone for good, if gone at all. Maurice's bright but tiny green eyes stayed glued to the construction shapes at the top of the building where Koba was, gibbering every few minutes as if he was praying that Haley was alright. He hoped that, just this once, Haley realized her limits, even if he knew that his hope was misplaced. Haley always pushed her limits into dangerous territory, no matter what people told her she couldn't handle - it was something that both terrified and impressed Maurice. Even Rocket once admitted to Maurice it was something he admired.

" _Strong human,"_ The chimp had signed by the fire after a particularly challenging hunt. Apparently, Haley had broken away from the hunting party to kill something else, to save the mother bear they were stalking. In the end, before they could succeed, she had killed enough small animals that it gave them more meat than the bear would have. She explained that there were more of those creatures in the forest, so they needed less protection. " _Not like how other humans are strong,"_ Rocket continued and punched his chest gently, " _Strong heart."_ Maurice could be mistaken, but he thought it was after that when Rocket kept a more careful watch over the human in their troop.

Tearing Maurice from his thoughts, voices suddenly sliced through the tension-infused silence. For a moment, Maurice thought it was the apes exiting the building again, but then a group of humans and a few apes rushed into view from the other direction and Maurice saw him. Him - the ape that everyone was already mourning. It was impossible - Maurice could not believe his eyes - and judging by the quiet, the others had the same reaction. Disbelief weighed down on them all, but finally, Rocket hooted hesitantly to grab the new group's attention, not sure if he actually wanted to succeed. When Caesar turned towards them, however, they could no longer deny it. That was definitely him. Not that any of them minded, because their king was alive and they were free.

" _Went where!?"_ Caesar signed speedily after Maurice told him what had happened with Haley. While Blue Eyes had kept Caesar on his feet, Ash and the humans had started helping the council out of their restraints as soon as they arrived, but the more the two sides explained their predicaments, the faster and more hurried the process grew. Rubbing his aching wrists, Maurice watched the panic visibly swell in his friend before he unexpectedly turned back towards the building and sped away on all fours. There was a moment of confusion for Maurice and the others, but Caesar quickly barked over his shoulder for them to follow and they had no reason to resist. Maurice tensed every time he saw Caesar flinch from the still-raw wound on his shoulder, but he didn't try to stop him. Ellie, Alex, and Malcolm kept to the stairs, like Haley had, but the apes quickly found themselves climbing the construction in the center of the building with impressive speed, so Maurice cautiously stayed close behind Caesar, to save him in the worse case scenario.

The climb was not too long, but the minutes that passed dragged longer with each one, as if testing their patience and endurance. Even Maurice felt his muscles burn by the time they finally arrived, the sky blinding him from just the short while he was stuck in the dark. He puzzled over how bad the blow would have been if the sky wasn't darkening already. But when his eyes adjusted, he did not care, as hundreds of shocked ape faces faded into sight and revealed the commotion above San Francisco's streets. Maurice's chest grew tight when his eyes fell on the three figures closest to them and focussed on the limb figure on the ground between the other two, undeniably the girl they were chasing after. Right next to her, Cornelia and Tinker was crouched low to help, but both of them were watching Caesar in frozen awe. Her movements were stiff, but slowly, Cornelia rose and made her way towards her deceased mate, reaching for his face. She openly jerked when her fingers grazed his skin, almost like she was expecting for her hand to faze straight through him. However startled she may have been, it didn't last long before she pulled his forehead against hers, with a heart soaring from relief.

Rocket greeted his mate as well, but Maurice quickly carried himself over to Haley and slipped a hand under her head to hoist her up. Whatever he was trying to accomplish, hearing her groan softly from the shift was more than he could have hoped for. Immediately, he felt his body slack - she was alive at least. The more he continued to look her over, the less battered she seemed, and yet, as soon as the concern left Maurice, the new room flooded with rage, seeing her in a such a state. And when Maurice forced his gaze back to Caesar, he knew the leader felt no different. But, the king's attention was long-since stolen by the the half-blind bonobo who was emerging from the crowd. Koba looked exhausted, no matter how high he tried carrying himself with his usual glower. By the limp in his step and by how the skin of his back looked grated away by a harsh blow, it was clear that either Koba suffered immensely in this war or Haley put up quite the fight. Maurice knew it was the latter.

"Hurt own mate now?" Caesar grunted, his words thick with anger as he held himself back from attacking. That was the second time that Koba has hurt Halay in the last few days, and somehow, he was growing the horrifying idea that Koba has done it before without his knowledge.

Koba said nothing, his glare only growing darker, but in his unwillingness to admit what he had done, he didn't deny it either, and that made Caesar's fist shake with increasing rage. Koba intentionally hurt Haley - his own mate and Caesar's oldest friend - and Caesar felt this reality repeating in his head, fueling a fire inside of him that he didn't want to have. There was something deeper inside of Caesar that made Koba's sins hurt more - so much more - but Caesar couldn't pinpoint what it was. All he knew was that Koba's next words could possibly determine exactly how their brotherhood will end, and maybe that was why Koba stayed perfectly quiet.

Cornelia saw it, too: the boiling inside of Caesar, but unlike him, she knew exactly where it was coming from and what was making it grow out of control so quickly. She knew about it since a long time ago, even if Caesar didn't, and so, she only stepped back. It was not only because of that, however, that she kept in place. This confrontation between Koba and her mate could not be avoided - it shouldn't be. Unlike most apes, Cornelia grew up in the wild and she can still recall a time when a fire had broken out in the forest because of humans. No matter how the hairless men tried to contain it, they only made the fires push back and get worse. That and this weren't much different. Finally, Koba spoke.

"No place for human here," He growled low, "Haley not ape."

"Haley family," Caesar insisted slowly, but Koba's fur only bristled in response.

"Caesar favor Haley and humans," He snapped, "Caesar betray ape. Caesar weak - no different than human. Council same - all end up same as Haley."

Caesar wasn't really sure if he was trying to get Koba to see reason, to calm down, or if he was just trying to understand what was going through the bonobo's head, but whatever he was trying, it didn't work, and finally, he said exactly the wrong thing. " _Koba more human than anyone in troop. Haley said that,"_ Caesar signed and paused to look back to his unconscious friend, " _Took two years to prove it. If Caesar human, Koba worse."_

Maurice watched in horror as Koba finally exploded with a scream and jumped for Caesar, but as much as he wanted to intervene, he couldn't bring himself to move. He knew Caesar wouldn't want him to, but he also couldn't bare to put Haley back down. Soon enough, because of Koba's echo, he didn't have a choice anyway. With the faintest of whimpers, Haley stirred and turned her head on Maurice's palm from once side to the other until her eyes finally creaked open. It took everything in Maurice not to pull her up quickly and see her entirely awake as soon as possible. Instead, he cooed quietly and waited for her to find her way to reality on her own. Eventually, she grunted painfully and pulled herself up, looking around like some bewildered baby ape until she finally processed what was going on, seeing Koba and Caesar blur and crash in every direction. Maurice wondered if she was trying to figure out if she was hallucinating or not, but no, she was simply frozen by the view.

Seeing through her blurry vision how her mate and her friend were tumbling across metal, steel, and air literally nauseated Haley. When she woke up, she briefly pleaded that maybe all previous events were a nightmare, but no, it was so much worse. She didn't want to see this - their screams were like blades to her ears: a combination of terrifying and heart crushing. The longer it dragged on, the worse it got, and judging by how closely they were matched, despite Caesar's injury, it wasn't going to end any time soon. Quickly, rapidly, Haley's endurance thinned and she just couldn't take it anymore. "Koba!" She screamed the loudest that she could, her voice raw and sore, "Stop this!" But whatever she was hoping for, it had the opposite effect. Hearing his friend's voice, Caesar was the one who turned away from the fight, and he immediately paid with a strike to his side, sending him crashing into loose construction parts on the level below.

Haley turned rigid when Koba turned to her thereafter, immediately distracted from her guilt when he bore his intimidating canines. Without a sound, he climbed from his elevation and stalked closer as nothing but an ominous silhouette in front of the remaining light in the sky. Maurice's long orangutan arm instinctively tightened around her shoulder protectively, but Haley didn't move. She didn't seem to have the strength or capability, and it only got worse when Koba bowed down and swept a gun from the platform a few yards away. That's when other apes started growing restless. Rocket rushed forward against Tinker's begging and tried blocking Koba from Haley with his own body. "Rocket, don't-" Haley started, but before she could even force herself to her feet to pull the chimp back, she gasped from seeing and hearing him be budded away with the back of Koba's gun, sending him stumbling back and grabbing his face. It nearly stopped Haley's heart, seeing Tinker slide to her mate's side and gibber worriedly, but she was tortured by the fact that she could do nothing when the barrel of a gun was aimed between her eyes.

"Hah," Haley chuckled despite herself, "Are you going to kill me now, Koba?" She didn't need an answer - the look on Koba's face said it all. His finger was already pulling on the trigger. Predicting a retaliation, Haley briefly sent Cornelia a look of her own, telling the queen not to interfere. It was already a miracle that Koba hadn't killed Cornelia already. "Honestly, I knew we'll end up like this." Haley admitted and moved her attention back to her ex-mate. She only realized it then, but it was true. "But I wonder," She hummed and leaned back into Maurice, who was getting ready to hide her body behind his, "If you want me dead, why did you protect me with your body earlier when we fell?"

 _What? -_ Maurice's focus quickly shattered as his rare glare fell in disbelief. At once, the wound on Koba's back made sense, but that was not what took Maurice so off guard. Rather, it was the sudden chance of expression from the bonobo as well. In an instant, his glare morphed to something Maurice had never seen before. It almost seemed like a mixture of shock and uncertainty, with faint remorse flickering in the depths of his one colored eye. His permanent wrinkles faded and made him seem young, sane - healthy. Maurice immediately knew that look will be embroidered into Haley's mind for a long time, just to torture her conscience. And as always, the orangutan was not wrong.

Haley sat in shock, wondering what that look meant, because she couldn't have read it right. She wondered if she had imagined it when she saw the gun lower, but there was no time to make sure before Koba was once again tackled by the ape king and they carried on with their battle. This time, Haley kept her mouth shut, but it physically hurt to do so. Maurice could feel her tremble on his arm with every strike that landed between the two apes, no matter who it landed on. For whatever reason, Haley flinched at Koba's pained barks and that only made her shaking worse, because she knew she shouldn't be worrying about him. Hearing his screeches should not reverberate through her - not as much as Caesar's - but logic didn't keep her hands from shaking and her core from aching. Finally, Haley couldn't watch. Squeezing her eyes shut, Haley bowed her head and backed into Maurice more securely, to bask in his body heat like a frightened child. Naturally, Maurice didn't miss her behavior at all. Haley's anxiety practically infected him and he allowed her to do as she pleased.

Consoling Haley with a small coo, he moved his attention back onto the fight for her sake. Just like it hurt Haley to see the two fight, Maurice felt it turn his stomach, like eating a bad fruit or not having any fruit for a few days, but he still couldn't stop himself from watching. Seeing Haley look away, he somehow felt an obligation to see how it ended, so he can tell her when her friend, their king, won. But then, why, when the fight grew more and more in Caesar's favor, did Maurice feel Haley's body grow more stiff? _The sounds must be confusing her_ , Maurice thought as he glanced back to Rocket, whose face was bleeding again after Tinker tried wiping it dry. She only gave everyone time to see the nasty gash from the chimp's forehead to his nose - it was a definite scar. That was all Maurice needed to showed no penitence when Caesar started overpowering Koba by the edge of the building. "Ape no kill ape," Caesar grunted furiously down at the bonobo, "Stop Koba." But it was no secret that Koba was a stubborn creature. There was no answer before Koba leaped towards Caesar again and all the king had to do was skid out of the way to evade the attack.

It took everyone less than a split second to see Koba's trajectory and to break into an unruly mess, and judging by the bonobo's scream that followed in a second, he, too, had to process the death ahead. On a moment of impulse, Caesar grabbed after Koba to save him from the cliff-like drop, but he barely grazed his foot. In the end, only Koba saved himself. The screech he gave as he grabbed onto the ragged piece of metal was terrifying, but as much as it might have hurt Koba to dangle on his now-raw palm, the stray piece of construction did save his life. Desperately, he held onto the rod while his feet faced the circular tunnel in center of the building. His scarred back stung excruciatingly from the pull it had to endure, but he still tried pulling himself up with a growl, even if only to collapse back down afterwards.

Caesar watched Koba struggle with guilty pleasure while he caught his breath. He craved to just leave Koba there - after everything he's done, he deserved death. With how many deaths he's caused with this pointless war, Caesar was right. Maybe Caesar wasn't tired at all; maybe he was catching his breath as an excuse to let the ape die. But he didn't have the heart for long - or maybe, he never had the heart to go through with it anyway - because Maurice quickly hooted for his attention. It had taken Koba dangling from the edge and Haley curling at the sound of his wrestling grunts and groans for Maurice to register why she couldn't watch. Despite everything, she didn't want to see Koba die - even worse, not by Caesar's hands. Caesar almost forgot that Haley was even there until he saw her crumpled shape, with her shoulders tightly pinned to her ears, as if to block out sound. Whatever was festering inside of Caesar quickly dissipated when he saw her and he realized he was fighting a fight that was not his. _He was king_ , he knew, but somehow, that didn't matter as he moved over to Koba. For a while, he sneered down at him, wondering if he really wanted to go through with this, but eventually, he maneuvered his tired, sore body down, grabbed Koba's wrist against his will, and hoisted the bonobo back onto the platform.

Koba was confused by the sudden compassion to say the least, but when he saw the figure moving towards them and Caesar stepping away, he felt a fear come to life that he's never experienced before.

Haley's world was stolen by chilling darkness when Maurice shook her out of her state and forced her to open her eyes, but at least that black wasn't as confusing as when the first thing to adjust in her vision was the sight of Caesar pulling Koba back to safety. ' _What!?'_ Haley gasped in thought and whisked her head towards Maurice for answers. With the way things were going, she was sure someone was going to die. Only seeing Maurice's sympathetic face was enough to make the situation click, making her eyes spread in dismay. Haley kept still for a while, as if waiting for his expression to change, but it never did, and she knew she was right. Carefully, Haley stood, ignoring the ache in her muscles that were left from the jerk of her fall and the blows of her own battle. Haley knew about the danger of her legs giving in under her own weight - she could feel them wobble - but for now, they held out. Carefully and with as much grace as she could fake, she took Caesar's place in front of Koba.

For a while, they just stared at each other, but inevitably, words tore pass her lips. "You know, I came all this way because, despite seeing that Caesar was alive, I didn't want to believe him - I didn't want to think you would go this far." Haley breathed with guilt, but saw no change from Koba, "You started a war, Koba," She clarified, her throat tightening around her words, "You started a war. You tried killing your brother so apes could kill humans. And in doing so, you allowed dozens of apes to be murdered," she paused, "Did you even take care to look what you had done - did you see all the faces rotting in the street?" But still, nothing she said seemed to have any affect on his blank stare, and justifiably, that only made Haley's blood boil. He really doesn't care what he does or who he hurts anymore. "Maybe you just need to feel what they felt." Haley growled and tightened her grasp around her bow, but followed only by glancing back to Caesar, "But Caesar is right. Ape not kill ape. That's one of the three laws, right?"

To Maurice, the silence that filled the night sky seemed even worse than the one before - again, that strange feeling of rotten fruit poked at him, but he didn't know why.

"It's a good thing I am not ape!" Haley snapped suddenly, and in an instant, Koba was faced with her very last arrow, just like she had been faced with his gun, "You and everyone else have made god-damn sure of reminding me about that fact every time you could!" Immediately, Maurice's bad feeling was understood, and Koba couldn't stop his fear from showing itself, making him back away. At least, until he nearly tripped on the edge of the platform and remembered where he was. Caesar, too, was petrified - he hadn't even seen Haley pick up her weapon, let alone seen her carry it. But it was what Haley said that really struck Caesar the most. _What was that - 'not ape?'_

"I should kill you right now!" Haley yelled, "After what you did - after what you made me do!" Without warning, the memory of Kemp's shattered skull and dead stare burned to the surface of Haley's mind. "He's dead," She realized then, her eyes stinging and an invisible weight growing unbearable on her shoulders. "I know I did it - I know it's no one's fault but my own." She shook her head, shaking the memory away, "But you knew, Koba - you knew how I would react if Caesar was killed! You knew!" Her hand pulled the arrow closer, pulling the string tighter. Her hand was shaking with anger - she wanted nothing more than to let go - she had as much motivation as anyone - but no matter what she told her body, it wouldn't listen. She just stood there, her finger practically on a trigger, and Koba's fear never faded either, but nothing happened.

"Damn it," She whispered to herself, cursing at her own limbs and demanding an answer to why they wouldn't go through with it. Soon, she actually got an answer. The face Koba had shown earlier suddenly flashed before her in an hallucination and she realized it. She couldn't - she just couldn't bring herself to kill Koba.

"I can't." She admitted aloud in astonishment, dropping the bow as if it weighed a hundred tons. She really just couldn't bring herself to do it, and by the looks of Koba, he looked just as caught off guard by her realization as she did. _But why,_ she wondered, _why could she not kill him, even after everything he's done to her?_ From the stitches on her head, the many scars hidden across her skin, and the ache over her entire body, the damage he had caused her will never be erased, but something was still stopping her. Deep down, she knew what it was. As much as she wanted to deny it, she couldn't. She noticed it cutting at her heart earlier, when she was still curled up against Maurice. Still telling herself that she was wrong would not only be foolish, but it will be blatant. "You know," Haley started again, her voice hoarse and faint - it hurt to talk, "The worst part is," She stopped to study Koba's confused and annoyed glare before carrying on, "no matter when I told you, you never would have believed me when I said that I loved you, right? No matter how much that truth hurt me?"

Quickly, that strange look returned to Koba's face and wrenched Haley's heart. It made her so confused - so concerned. For him or her, she wasn't sure. _What did it mean?_ She had thought that it was guilt shining past his usual layer of anger, but she couldn't be certain. She didn't know if it was possible for Koba to even feel the level of remorse that she caught glossing his eye. This time, however, the expressioned looked worse - it was as if Haley should see something break inside of Koba as an aura of shock overcame him. He watched her in silence, as if to see her flinch, but she didn't even blink. What she said was true, and she could see that it made rusted wheels turn in the bonobo's head. Something was withering inside of him, like the craze that has blinded him this far or maybe the denial he held towards her presence around him. As previously said, Haley couldn't pinpoint it. She couldn't read him. Something was happening, something that made her stomach sink lower and lower, but she couldn't figure out what it was. "Koba?" She finally questioned, but instead of saying anything, he glanced towards Caesar, and after not seeing the chimp's glare waver, he moved his eye back to her. Trepidation unexpectedly filled Haley when his expression changed again - he believed her. "Koba?" She tried again, but then his eyes closed and he leaned back.

No one even knew what had happened until it was too late. "No!" Haley screamed in a panic and dashed forward to stop Koba from throwing his body over the side, but it was as if time had slower. She reached out, grasped for anything, but she didn't move any faster, no matter how hard she tried. "Koba!" She screamed and kept tossing herself forward, but all she saw was her mate's body falling farther and farther. Finally, a pair of hairy arms locked around her middle, keeping her from going any farther and accidentally falling to the depths, too. "Koba, you bastard!" She kept yelling, bitter tears streaming down her face. Earlier, she couldn't cry even if she wanted to, but now it wouldn't stop - it was as if she subconsciously knew this was inevitable and her body was saving tears for it. "You coward!" She cried, her arms and body finally collapsing against whoever was holding her, "How dare you, Koba…" Koba just killed himself - he jumped. _How? Why? What?_ It couldn't be true. Haley couldn't believe it. But there was no time to think about it either.

Abruptly, the building shook in an explosion, making every ape screech in an alarmed frenzy. Then came another, and another, and another. "Go! Go! Go!" Caesar barked furiously when it didn't stop, feeling the world falling apart under their feet, "Go!" He didn't know what was happening - no one did - but the danger was clear. But the thunderous booms were a blur in Haley's sorrowful ears. "No! No! Let me go!" She demanded when she felt herself be carried away in a hurry, her tears growing worse. She wanted to go back - she wanted to save Koba - her mind wasn't willing to accept it yet - he had to still be standing there. Relentlessly and unsuccessfully, she kept fighting against the ape holding her as everyone fled, "No, stop!"

 **"** **Koba!"**

* * *

 **I terribly long chapter to make up for the long wait. And it's finally here! The end of Haley's journey - at least, the one by Koba's side. She still has a long story ahead. Now, in the midst of a war, Haley has to learn to mourn her mate and accept her species at the same time, so stick around if you want to read about it.** [Should I continue in a Book 2 or here?]

 **By the way, please go check out Mauryn's stories! I won't be able to get all these chapters to you guys without her help - she's my darling beta. ^^**

 **Remember, if you guys want, go take a look at my YouTube Channel: Geeky Fanatic.**


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